Wannabe Heroes
by AeAe
Summary: To Koharu Aizawa, "sidekick" was a dirty word. She knew that she could be a better Hero than anyone that had come before her, Eraserhead included. But with the fierce competition of her classmates and a so-called Support Quirk, how will Koharu manage to rise to the top? Features Brozawa, an eventual OCxCanon pairing, and gratuituous swearing.
1. Coming Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or any characters/plotlines that you recognize from it. I'm just playing with the dollhouse.**

**Updated: July 05, 2020 (rewording)**

* * *

_Chapter One: Coming Home_

* * *

"Welcome home, Koharu."

A young girl, hair pitch black with eyes to match, took her first tentative step into the apartment. She shuffled off her red rainboots to replace them with the small slippers that had been laid out to her next to Shouta's much, much larger pair.

Shouta watched. He took in the bright yellow of her sweater, his eyes tracing the pattern of the duck sewn into the back for the hundredth time. She had chosen green pants to match, and of course, red rain boots. Shouta couldn't remember ever wearing such garish things, but he knew that the boots used to be his. The hunch of her shoulders kept him from saying anything.

He couldn't remember ever being so small.

Shouta remained at her heels as she stepped through the kitchen, unsure whether he felt more like a steady presence or an annoyance. He only needed to take one step for every three of hers. Koharu stopped in the door frame that seperated the kitchen from the living room.

Two sets of matching black eyes peered into a room devoid of life. The walls were a bare white, and the floor a dull grey. A futon was shoved up against the far wall, a stained coffee table hosting a small television across from it. Shouta may have moved in two years prior, but he had never bothered to purchase more than what he deemed essential. Work took up most of his time. It was pointless to bother making his house a home.

Now, as he stood behind the walking rainbow that was Koharu, he found himself desperately regretting having forgotten to invest in a throw pillow. Koharu's hands were fisted in the sleeves of her sweater as her eyes swept the room.

He had never seen her look so _uncertain_. It made his skin itch.

Shouta cleared his throat, and placed a gentle hand at the top of the girl's back. "Your room is this way," he said quietly. He ushered her to their right, and opened up the lone door that they found there.

She let out a small gasp at her bedroom's reveal. A week ago, Shouta might have smiled. That day, his lips could only muster a small wobble as Koharu wandered into her new bedroom with those small, shuffling feet.

The room had once been his seldom-used office, hosting nothing more than a sad desk and a couple pens that he had shoved into his bedroom to make room for Koharu. Now, her bedroom was decorated with a horrendous mural of wall decals, ranging from cute to ridiculous. They included childhood wonders such as rainbows, superheroes, and trains, and covered much of the white walls beneath them.

Her furniture was much too large for a five-year-old girl, but she would grow into it. All of her furniture had been his before he moved out, and he knew that she would recognize it. The dresser still had a messy stain along the drawers from one of Koharu's first adventures in finger-painting. The bed-frame was still scratched from stray cats brought home and hidden from disapproving parents. He could still picture them, Koharu swaddled against his chest, napping after school or before school or, really, anytime at all.

He had hoped that he made the right choice in taking his furniture rather than hers. When her reverent hands ran down the bed-frame, little face filled with awe, he knew that he had.

Her fingers suddenly froze against the wood and fell away. Those eyes were suddenly empty again, and Shouta could have cried.

"Hizashi did the stickers," he blurted.

Koharu stood in the centre of the room to take in the walls. With her back to him, Shouta could see little more than tense shoulders and elbows raised as Koharu fidgeted with the strings of her sweater. She looked… lost, he thought, and he hated it.

A small sniffle sounded from beneath Koharu's yellow hood. "It's pretty."

Shouta's heart was both frozen and in his ass, and his stomach was screaming. Was she crying? "...thanks," he said, hoping he wasn't about to have to comfort her.

She was quiet then, standing still and looking hard at the floor. Shouta didn't know what to say. Was he supposed to leave now? He certainly wanted to.

"Shouta?"

He was across the room in a heartbeat, hands hovering towards Koharu with uncertainty. He shoved those traitors back into his pockets. "Yeah?"

Koharu was hunched in on herself, looking somehow even smaller than before. "Mom isn't gonna come back?"

_Shouta didn't know how to do this_. His mouth felt as dry as his eyes. "I don't know," he said, and it was the truth, even if his heart didn't believe it.

"Oh," she whispered, and Shouta heard her sniffle again. "Shouta?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I hold your hand?"

"Yeah."

He took his hand out of his pocket, offered it to the girl, and held her hand tight. Her body wobbled as she cried, fat tears running unobstructed down her face. With each droplet that fell to the floor, Shouta felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, and trusted that Koharu wouldn't tell anyone when he started to cry along with her. They had no one else, after all.

What could Shouta do? How had anyone thought it was a good idea to put this baby into his care? She had only just learned how to ride a bike. Her knees were still skinned. She hadn't even lost a tooth yet.

Encased in his grip, her hand was so small that he feared he might shatter it.


	2. The Day It Begins

_Chapter Two: The Day It Begins_

* * *

"SHOUTA!"

Buried beneath a behemoth of blankets, Shouta loudly cursed and grumbled. It had been a decade, and not a day went by that he didn't curse himself for taking in that _damn brat_.

He could hear her calling his name between the loud crashes of her fists against his door. Shouta knew that he was safe from her intruding— Koharu had only had to walk in on him sleeping naked once before she learned to never let herself into the sleeping man's room. That didn't mean that she wasn't capable of irritating him out of hiding, though.

"Shouta, come on!" She was whining now, her abuse against his door quieting just enough so that she could properly portray her pitifulness. "My first day starts in an _hour_! You promised that you would make me breakfast!"

Shouta did vaguely remember such a promise, but that didn't change how little he wanted to get out of bed. There was a small pause in the racket, presumably as Koharu gave him a chance to get up. And then—

"HEY BASTARD, YOU PROMISED!"

The banging grew suddenly louder. Shouta was pretty sure that she was using her feet now, that _goddamn brat_.

"Fuck! Fine!" Shouta shouted as he threw off his blankets, hearing them _thwump_ to the floor. Cursing the brat and everything she stood for, Shouta quickly got himself dressed with his usual lack of care. Koharu was still waiting for him when he swung open his door.

Time had changed a lot about Koharu, but certainly not how obnoxious she was. Therefore, Shouta wasn't surprised to see that Koharu's hair was now purple. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Watch your fucking language, brat," he scolded as he gently shoved past the short teenager. She was quick to start following on his heels like a hungry puppy. To be polite, Shouta asked, "What's up with the hair?"

"I want to make a good impression on the class!" She chirped, and Shouta didn't have to look behind him to know that she would be messing up her hair as she said it. If there was something they had in common, it was their disheveled hair.

Breakfast was all but ready in the kitchen, prepped and waiting to be cooked. Shouta side-eyed Koharu, and swatted at her head as he half-heartedly grumbled about her having already done the work and not needing to wake him up. Koharu made them both coffee to drink as Shouta fried up the fish for their breakfast, and the two with the same peaceful pace as always, Koharu oversharing about her dreams between bites of food and Shouta grunting intervally. This morning was different, however— today was Koharu's first day at U.A..

"Koharu," Shouta interrupted the teenager as she rambled about some cat-collecting game she'd been playing. To her credit, she quieted in an instant. "When we're at school, I'm going to treat you like any other student, and I expect that you treat me as you would any other teacher."

The girl nodded, her messy hair falling from its tuck behind her ear as she did. She was quick to tuck it back as she responded, "Yeah, I already figured that out! But y'know, people are probably gonna notice we're related. I don't think they'll be that dumb."

Shouta shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Questionable," he said, a grain of rice falling from his lips. "But you're right, there's no hiding that we're related. That said, this is my place of work. And you're a student. So just don't be a little shit at school."

"So I can take that as you giving me permission to be a little shit at home?"

Shouta expertly tossed a pickled plum her way, and smirked as it hit right on target.

"Ugh, you bastard! Now I'm going to be late!" Koharu cried as she shot up, undoubtedly headed to the bathroom to clear her hair of the side-dish.

Shouta only snickered as he kicked his feet up, keen to enjoy the rest of his breakfast in peace.

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

For all her bravado, by the time Koharu was standing in front of the door to room 1-A, her stomach was so knotted that she thought she just might upend the breakfast that Shouta had so lovingly made for her.

The two had walked together to U.A., as their apartment was only a leisurely ten minute stroll away. Shouta left her quickly at the gates, walking off to do whatever it was teachers did in the morning with his usual slumped posture. He hadn't given her the slightest hint where to go, not that that surprised Koharu. Shouta had never been the 'helpful' sort of hero.

With her thinking cap on, it didn't take long for Koharu to navigate her way through the high-ceilinged halls of the academy and find herself at her classroom. She spared a quick glance around the hallway, and lightly pressed her ear against the door. She couldn't hear anyone in the room, but that didn't mean that no one was there. If someone was early, they would probably be doing a silent activity.

Leaning back, Koharu took a deep breath to calm her nerves and thought 'happy thoughts'. In a quick motion, she slid open the door to reveal an empty classroom. _Oh_, she thought, _How anticlimactic. I really am first._ And then, _How boring._

Koharu gripped the straps of her backpack and shuffled her feet. Sitting alone in the classroom didn't sound nearly as fun as wandering the halls. Decision swiftly made, Koharu turned around.

And crashed right into a rather firm chest.

"Oh, shi—" Koharu only just managed to stop herself from swearing as she windmilled backwards, eager to reclaim her personal space, as well as the stranger's space which she had invaded. Not that they hadn't invaded hers first, she thought. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that you were behind me, y'know."

The stranger was tall, with a broad chest and arms, and spectacles framing his dark eyes. His smile was so immediate and bright that Koharu wanted to flinch. "It's no problem! I should not have stood so close. I thought that you were going inside the classroom," he said, his sentence ending with an unasked question that Koharu quickly understood.

Koharu blushed, and rubbed a hand against the back of her neck. "No, yeah, I was…" she started, and cleared her throat when she thought about how awkward she was being. She promptly stepped into the classroom. "Honestly, I just didn't want to be the first person here, and look too eager."

_Shit_, wasn't she just calling him too eager? He was there at the same time as her, after all. She hoped that she wasn't being rude. It was hard to tell after after weeks of predominantly socializing with her crude brother...

"But, uh—" Koharu stammered, and wished that she could backtrack to breakfast when she poured herself a coffee rather than a calming cup of tea. "It's fine if we're both here, right? So we won't have to sit alone."

A hand was thrust close to her face. "I would be happy to wait with you for our classmates! My name is Tenya Iida," the boy introduced himself, his expression surprisingly serious and his posture rigid.

Koharu's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't hesitate to smile. "My name's Koharu Aizawa."

Right away, she could see a problem. "But," she said as realization hit her with a resounding slap. "But if you don't mind, Iida-san, you can call me by Koharu."

Inwardly, she was grumbling. She had always gone by 'Aizawa'. However, by virtue of being a teacher, Shouta automatically won that title in this setting. It would only be bothersome to refer to her by her last name around him, especially if he didn't want to make a big deal about their relationship.

"Koharu-san," Iida agreed, and his expression melted to something less rigid. He said nothing else.

Her next problem became instantly apparent. Koharu Aizawa was not good at small talk, and she was guessing that Iida wasn't either. _Fuuuck._ Even knowing it would be rude to leave now that she had said she would wait with her new classmate, Koharu quickly said, "Uh, y'know— I actually should go to the bathroom first. If you would please excuse me?"

She didn't wait for a response, and fled the room. _Ah, Koharu. You have the social elegance of a wet napkin. _

She could see another presumably future classmate coming down the hall towards her, and so she booked it the opposite direction. She was aiming for 'casual', but it was hard for her to tell what level of social panic she was outwardly portraying.

Walking the halls of U.A., Koharu was so lost in awe that she nearly ran out of time to make it back to the classroom. This time when she returned, she was met with a familiar sight: someone standing in front of the door, looking too nervous to enter and mumbling to himself. _Did I look that dorky, too?_

"Hey," Koharu chirped, catching the attention of the green-haired boy so violently that he jumped. Both hands raising to pacify, Koharu laughed a small, "Woah, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you."

"N-no, it's alright! I shouldn't be standing in front of the door!" His freckled cheeks split into a nervous smile, and Koharu noticed how nicely his emerald eyes matched his hair. Koharu wondered if he was like her and coloured his hair, and tried not to be envious as she spied his matching eyebrows to deem his colour natural. Some people had all the luck- she was born with black hair and black eyes, which hardly made her stand out in a crowd.

"That's alright," she started as she mirrored his stance, her hands gripping onto the straps of her backpack in a grip looser than his own. "It's a good standing spot. I got spooked there myself about twenty minutes ago." Koharu shrugged, and then nodded her head towards the door. "Did you want to keep ruminating here for a while, or should we go inside?"

His face turned bright red, and Koharu instantly felt bad— did he think that she was teasing him? Eager to not look like an asshole in front of a second classmate that morning, Koharu gave the boy a big smile before he could respond. "I'm Koharu, by the way!"

_Oof_. If she thought he was red before… "Oh, um! I'm Midoriya!" Either way, his smile in return was just as bright as her own, if not moreso. "It's nice to meet you!"

"You too, Midoriya. Shall we?" She gave him a moment to breathe before they opened the door, this time sliding to reveal a full classroom aiming their attention at the new arrivals. Koharu's heart stuttered. She gave Midoriya a quick side-eye; was he already popular or something?

"Good morning!" Was called from across the room, and none other than Iida came striding towards them. He wore the same serious expression from introducing himself to Koharu; it made her think that she was starting to understand his character a bit more. "I am from Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya!"

Midoriya responded with a nervous, close-eyed smile. "I'm Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Iida."

"Midoriya," Iida said, arms held stiffly at his sides. "You realized that there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?" Beside her, Midoriya let out a small sound of confusion. "I had no idea… I misjudged you!" Now Iida was gritting his teeth as he turned away, looking ashamed of himself as he held his hands up in a stiff gesture. "I hate to admit it, but you are better than me."

_Oh shit_, thought Koharu. Midoriya _was_ popular.

"Sorry… I didn't actually realize anything," Midoriya was mumbling as another student came up behind them, her steps bouncy and her voice loud.

"Oh, that curly hair! You're the plain looking one!" The girl, a puffy-cheeked brunette, said to Midoriya. Despite her words, which made even Koharu blanch, her eyes were wide with admiration. "You passed, just like Present Mic said! Though of course you did, your punch was amazing!" She gave the air a good few punches for emphasis, and Koharu decided promptly that she liked the girl.

However, as Midoriya began to turn red and stammer out his response, Koharu sensed that she wasn't particularly needed there. Based on the seating chart written on the chalkboard, Koharu smoothly made her way to Seat 18. She was in the fourth row, second from the back, and directly next to the window, which would prove to be terrible for her daydreaming. The seat in front of hers was still empty, but a boy with a bird's face was seated next to her, and a girl with a tall black ponytail sat behind her.

Koharu sat down, and smiled first to her right-handed neighbour. "Hey," she greeted with a pleasant smile. "I'm Koharu."

He didn't return her grin, but the boy did offer her a curt nod as he responded with his name: Fumikage Tokoyami. Surprisingly, his voice was far from birdlike. Koharu thought his voice was actually quite deep, and matched the shadowy figure he presented.

Before she could introduce herself to the classmate behind her, the class was struck with a startled silence. All eyes were on the front door, staring at something that Koharu couldn't quite make out from her position. It wasn't hard to guess, however; her brother tended to make quite the impression.

When he stepped into view in a yellow sleeping bag, Koharu wasn't entirely surprised to learn that the "teacher shit" that Shouta had left for earlier was simply an excuse for a nap. "Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet," he said then as he pulled apart his makeshift cocoon to step out of. "Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough."

His eyes scanned the classroom, and skimmed right past Koharu without a beat. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa." His face was complete neutral as he finished with a bland, "Nice to meet you."

"It's kind of sudden," he continued as he began to rustle through his sleeping bag. To their surprise, he pulled out a gym uniform. "But put these on, and go out onto the field."

Koharu felt her stomach twist. So there was no easing into it, huh?

Hero training started today.


	3. A Quirk Revealed

_Chapter Three: A Quirk Revealed_

* * *

Shouta's Quirk presented itself when he was just three years old. Under the influence of his father's Quirk, he had been levitating in the air one moment, and then he was decidedly _not_. Supposedly he cried for an hour, but Shouta tended to leave that part of the story out.

He had the gift of erasing other individual's Quirks. Drawbacks included gravity-defying hair and red eyes— in more ways than one. He trained his body so he wouldn't have to use it to win a fight, and used his Quirk to get into a school for wannabe heroes.

He was fifteen when Koharu came along, a bouncing baby sister. She had a boring, pudgy face and constantly crapped her pants, but Shouta liked her company anyway. She didn't talk much back then, you see.

Years passed, Shouta growing closer to becoming a Pro Hero and Koharu growing closer to being able to hold an entire conversation without mentioning her favourite colour. She wasn't quite there yet, but Shouta was proud of her progress nonetheless.

Koharu wore rainbow tights and a bright pink cape to his graduation from U.A., where she told him that she would get a Quirk that was "much cooler" than his and make Eraserhead her sidekick. The cape was worn to school for the next month with pride. Koharu hadn't had much of an interest in heroes before, but once Eraserhead hit the scene, it was all Koharu could talk about. She would be a hero like her brother.

When Koharu was five-years-old and still hadn't manifested a Quirk, the family was worried. Shouta had been so young when he first displayed his Quirk, and Koharu was already two years late. _Quirkless_, their mother had said. Like it was a dirty word. Like it was something to be ashamed of. Koharu stopped talking about becoming a hero.

Shouta had been eating lunch with a handful of other Heroes from his agency when he got the call from Koharu's teacher that she had activated her Quirk for the first time. He thought of his mother then, and how much she would have liked to have been the one to get a phone call like that. She would have been so happy to hear it, even the part where Koharu inadvertently caused a student brawl in the cafeteria.

Like all good commotions do, the incident began while the class was eating lunch. Koharu hadn't made many friends within her new class, and she often ate alone. Shouta always packed an extra snack for her to bribe the other children with, but it always came home with her for Shouta to eat himself. That day, he had packed Koharu two pudding cups for her snack.

He had not realized that pudding cups were such a hot commodity. He was to blame, really, for the ruckus that occured when Koharu decided to ask the class at large if anyone would like her extra snack. Almost everyone wanted her extra snack, and a tussle broke out faster than Koharu could choose a winner.

Words, fists, feet, and Quirks were all fair play for the little monsters in Koharu's class, and the tussle quickly developed into a brawl between four boys. Supposedly, the classroom was in complete chaos. Children and teachers screaming, desks breaking, boys cursing— and then everything came to a sudden stop with one anguished cry.

Aiming to throw a Hardened punch, the boy had instead impacted against a Hardened chest. His hand was broken. The fight was over. The pudding cup was not worth it.

Koharu could switch people's Quirks. Like Shouta, Koharu's Quirk was vision-based, and supposedly turned her eyes a bright orange when in use. Using it her first time, it had been activated for nearly thirty seconds before her eyes returned to their normal black hue. Her eyes were noticeably redder, they said. Shouta was only a little disappointed that her hair didn't float as well, the little copycat.

* * *

Things at home that day had been tense. Shouta had wanted to congratulate Koharu on finally discovering her Quirk, but one look at the girl had told him that he was better off not saying a word. They walked to their apartment together in silence, and Koharu took herself promptly to her room.

Shouta entered behind the grumpy child at a slower pace, and started boiling water so that he could make himself and Koharu some instant ramen. Shouta was a lot of things, but a talented chef he was not, and so he and his ward mostly lived off of frozen food and take-out. It was something he would have to reevaluate eventually, but for now, Koharu was happy as long as he cracked an egg into her instant ramen.

He was rifling through the cupboards for a spicy chicken flavor— Koharu's favourite— when he heard the first loud thump. Shouta's spine straightened. It was coming from Koharu's room, and that crash was only the first of many. Shouta squinted hard at the wall, hoping he could develop X-Ray vision to tell just what the fuck Koharu thought she was doing in there.

Shouta and Koharu had only been living together for four months. Things were still new— Shouta still didn't know how hard he could push. Still, for her own sake, he really hoped that she wasn't breaking anything in there. Koharu was a hoarder. Some of that was his shit, and he wanted it back.

Thoughts of noodles abandoned for the moment, the twenty-year old Hero dragged himself through the apartment to the source of the ruckus. It was even louder standing next to Koharu's room. Shouta slumped against the doorframe as he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. "Yo, Koharu?"

Through the apparent mayhem on the other side of the door, Koharu called back a sharp, "Yes?"

"Can you, uh— not? Break my house?"

Something soft thudded against the door. Shouta estimated that it was either a pillow or Neko-zawa, the giant stuffed cat she had demanded that he buy for her when she was four. Shouta heaved a great sigh before grabbing the handle and opening the door.

Koharu promptly tossed Neko-zawa in his face. Either humouring her or just too lazy to move, Shouta let it hit him. The fat cat slumped to his feet and rolled onto the floor. "Right, then," he said. "You need a time-out."

From her place standing on her bed, an island in the sea of her messy bedroom, Koharu began to sputter. "Wha— no, I don't…" Shouta watched as the energy seemed to seep out of her all at once. Koharu flopped onto her mattress, her small weight bouncing against it. "I don't need a time-out."

Warily, Shouta sat down next to her on the bed. It was time to switch tactics against the enemy that was parenting a child. "Did you want to talk about it, then?"

Koharu's arms reached around her bed for comforts that were no longer there, as all her pillows and animals were now strewn across the floor. She shoved her face into a bundled up sweater for lack of a better alternative. "I wanna be a hero," she whined.

"Okay," Shouta said slowly, wondering what the catch was. "You should… do that, then?"

The girl groaned loudly into her makeshift pillow. "My Quirk is too dumb!"

Gnawing on his lip, Shouta took a moment to consider his response. "Your Quirk probably isn't dumb," he finally said. When she turned her head to glare at him, he shrugged and added an unapologetic, "I haven't seen it yet."

Koharu sat up, her messy hair flying everywhere. "And you never will, 'cause my Quirk is dumb and useless!" The girl's face was bright red as she spoke from a mix of frustration and a lack of breath from having her face buried in cloth. "I can't be a Hero with a Quirk like—like that."

Shouta licked his dry lips as he crossed his arms. He knew that he had to tread carefully, and so his words came slowly. Carefully. "You probably saved your classmate from having a broken rib this afternoon," he finally said.

Koharu's expression was incredulous. "Juzo broke his arm!"

"He shouldn't have been using his Quirk to fight against his classmates like that," Shouta firmly stated. "If hitting his Quirk is strong enough to break an arm, being hit by it is damn well strong enough to break ribs. _Juzo_ should be thanking you for stopping him."

Shouta was on a roll. He could totally do this 'comfort' thing. He quickly stood up to encourage himself. "I don't want to hear you whining about your Quirk," he said, his tone just on the edge of being harsh. _Whoops._ "If you want to be a Hero, you work hard."

"But—" Koharu started to say, but Shouta shook his head.

"A Quirk doesn't make a Hero. You should already know that," he said. He made sure that Koharu was looking at him when he began to smirk. "What's _dumb_ is relying on your Quirk when you already know that your opponent can negate them.. After all, weren't you planning on beating me?"

Kids were _so_ easy. Shouta was a great parent. Koharu lit up like the sky, all gung-ho and ready to take him on that second. "Of course I am! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Her fists were already raised. For a short moment, Shouta was overwhelmed with how much he loved her. He wouldn't correct her language— which she undoubtedly picked up from him— just this once.

"Then we had better get started on your training, brat."

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**I had been planning to publish this chapter tomorrow, but today I am celebrating two things: one, that my roommate has finally moved out and I can now write without pants on, and two, that this story now has 11 followers! _Wow!_ I'm seriously humbled that so many people have decided they want to keep reading this story. Hopefully I won't disappoint you guys.**

**To M, who reviewed both introduction chapters: your reviews made me so happy. Thank you for inspiring me to continue writing.**


	4. The Quirk Assessment Test

_Chapter Four: The Quirk Assessment Test_

* * *

"A quirk assessment test?!"

The class of 1-A stood in an empty track belonging to the school, all dressed in matching short-sleeved jumpsuits. The uniform was dark blue and decorated with white strips that spelled 'UA' in long lines up their bodies. It clashed horribly with Koharu's hair, but she thought that she was still rocking it.

"What about the entrance ceremony?" Voiced the brunette from earlier, who had introduced herself as Ochaco Uraraka. "The orientation?"

Shouta's back was to them as he responded sternly, "If you're going to be a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." _Pointless shit_ is more likely what he would have referred to it as at home, Koharu thought, but she was starting to see a different personality in this 'Aizawa-sensei'.

"U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are." When Shouta looked over his shoulder to the class, Koharu thought that his eyes looked especially bloodshot. His disapproving frown was evident. "That's also how the teachers run their classes. We'll be doing physical fitness tests."

Shouta pulled a small tablet from his pocket, and held it up for the class to see. There was a small mumble of interest throughout the class. From her place as far away as possible while still falling in the realm of casual, even Koharu was interested.

"You've been doing these since junior high, right? Fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. The country still uses averages taken from results from students not using their Quirks— it's not rational. The Ministry of Education is procrastinating."

It was a fair point that Koharu had never really considered, not that her Quirk improved her physicality at all. The most she could do was sabotage the other athletes, which didn't seem sportsmanlike. She would need to rely on the fact that Shouta had already been kicking her ass into shape for years— maybe experience with his expectations would give her a leg up?

Shouta furthered his slouch as his bloodshot eyes rolled over the class. Just as he had in the classroom, his eyes slid past Koharu without a hint of recognition. Instead, his eyes narrowed on someone else. "Bakugou," he called out, and then all eyes were on him. "You finished at the top of the practical exam, right?"

The boy in question had a resting bitch face full of contempt, and blond hair spiky to match his prickly expression. He gave an indifferent shrug.

"In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?"

Koharu watched as the teenager's posture changed to mirror his teacher's, his shoulders slumped and his hands shoved into his pockets. When he spoke, Bakugou's voice matched his rough exterior. "67 meters."

"Try doing it with your Quirk."

She couldn't help but move closer with the rest of her class as Bakugou took his place on the painted field, a baseball in hand and a decidedly bored look on his face. Just what was his Quirk?

"You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle," Shouta continued to explain as he took a step back with the class, ready to score the first athlete. His voice had all the enthusiasm of a preteen being forced to entertain their parents' friends. "Give it all you've got."

"Well then…" Bakugou said, and this time Koharu thought that his voice sounded more like a growl. Still, she wasn't expecting it as his face twisted into a look of fierce anger, screaming "DIE!" as he tossed the ball with an explosion of fire. The ball soared through the air, significantly further than 67 meters. Koharu felt her eyes widen.

"Know your own maximum first," suggested Shouta as they watched the ball begin its descent. The device in his hands gave a loud beep when it hit the ground. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero." He held up the screen to them.

_705.2m._

_Holy shit._

Her classmates echoed her sentiments to varying degrees, quite a few of them calling out in shock at the high number. Watching Bakugou's success had the immediate impact of firing them all up.

"700 meters? Wow!"

"We can use our Quirks as much as we want! As expected of the hero course!"

"This'll be so much fun!"

Koharu felt the chill in the air immediately, but her classmates had yet to catch on. There's that leg up on knowing Shouta, she thought. She shuffled a step back from the group as if distancing herself from their joy.

"It looks fun, huh?" Shouta's sharp voice cut through the excitement. "You have three years to become a hero. Will you have that attitude the whole time?"

_Oh fuck he was smiling._

"All right," their esteemed teacher said with a sinister sneer. "Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential, and will be punished with expulsion."

The class erupted. People hollered and sputtered, and _Aizawa-sensei_ watched them with glee. Koharu thought she saw Midoriya start shaking. Even Koharu was sweating, knowing of her brother's proclivity for ruthless expulsion.

"We're free to do what we want with our students." Shouta ran a hand through his hair, and since he hadn't struck enough fear into the hearts of his students just yet, he pushed it back to clearly reveal his bloodshot eyes and a terrible grin. "Welcome to the U.A. Hero Course."

_Game on_, thought Koharu. However, that wasn't enough for some students. Uraraka voiced her displeasure openly with a sweet voice and fists curled up to her chest, asking why they had to do such a serious test on their first day of school. "Even if it wasn't the first day," she said, "This is just unfair!"

Now, Shouta's smile was lost as he responded to the class at large, "Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains. Emergencies whose time or place can't be predicted. Japan is littered with unfairness." He didn't need to look at Uraraka for her to flinch. "Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If you wanted to go hang out with your friends after school, too bad. For the next three years, U.A. will do all that it can to put you through the wringer. Go beyond, and overcome. That's what Plus Ultra means."

He raised a hand, and tauntingly flexed his fingers. "Bring it on with all you've got."

When he finished, Koharu was certain that he was looking at her. She returned his gaze with a look of hard set determination, her back straightening as the young girl tried to feel taller. If Shouta wanted her to give it all that she could, she would. She would make him proud.

"The demonstration is over. The real thing starts now."

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

The first test was a 50-metre dash. Koharu woke up to run with the sunrise every morning, so she had been feeling pretty good about herself when she was paired up with Iida for the first dash. But it turns out that Iida was a goddamn race-car, and Koharu was in way over her head. She managed to complete her sprint in 5.76 seconds— which beat her previous best— but she was still left in Iida's literal dust.

"Holy smokes, Iida!" Koharu called as she caught up to the boy, stopping next to her classmate and marvelling at the way the engines in his calves seemed to pulse. "That was really cool! Just how fast can you go?"

Iida's chest puffed with pride, but his face remained serious. "I believe you'll find out, Koharu!"

Koharu's responding laugh was quick and short. "Okay, tough guy. I'll be looking forward to it." She lifted her hand up to offer the boy a high-five, to which he responded with a resounding slap against her palm. The two nodded to each other before Koharu headed away from the end of the track to avoid getting run over by an eager sprinter.

The next assessment was a grip test. Koharu crowded in a circle with Uraraka and another classmate, who introduced herself as Jiro. Her hair was a colder shade of purple than Koharu's, and earphone jacks extended from her earlobes. None of the girls excelled at the grip test, but Koharu managed to score the highest by a slim margin.

The same was decidedly untrue for the next test, which was the standing long-jump. Koharu was short. Not "slightly below average", but short. She was not going to make it very far unless she had a hell of a running start. Still, she did her best, and at least she didn't fall on her ass like a few of the others did.

The tests continued, and Koharu continued to fall behind the others as they engaged their amazing Quirks to assist them— those lucky bastards with physical enhancements. Koharu turned to squint at Shouta for a long moment, resenting him for making her realize just how weak she was compared to some of her classmates. He didn't turn his head when he met her gaze, but lifted an eyebrow at her still before his eyes slid away once more.

Koharu was in the middle of sticking a tongue out at him when his eyes turned red and his hair began to rise. Koharu whipped her head around to see Midoriya standing frozen in the field— Shouta had erased his Quirk, whatever it was. _But why?_

Shouta walked through the crowd from his place at the back, the class parting like the sea as his capture device and hair floated around him. "That entrance exam was definitely not rational enough," he said. Koharu could no longer see his expression, but she could hear his scowl. "Even a kid like you was accepted."

"You erased my Quirk?" Midoriya asked in shock, before noticing something significant: "Those goggles!"

Koharu couldn't help it when her chest filled with pride, even if she thought Shouta was being a bit of a jerk at that moment. Midoriya clearly recognized Eraserhead, and as Eraserhead's number one fan, Koharu appreciated that. He had cemented himself in her good books.

"You can erase people's Quirks just by looking at them," Midoriya continued with awe. "The Erasure Hero: Eraserhead!"

Around her, the class began to mutter. "Eraser? I don't know him."

"Maybe you should do more research, then," Koharu said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He's an underground Hero. And he's super cool."

"He's kinda scary…"

Keen to ignore the mutterings of his students, Shouta continued to reprimand Midoriya. "From what I can tell, you can't control your Quirk," he said. "Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you?"

"Th-that's not my intention—" stammered Midoriya, his hands in determined fists at his sides.

Shouta snapped his capture device around Midoriya's midsection and pulled him closer, speaking low for only him to hear. When he finally released the teen, Koharu thought that the boy looked defeated.

Was this how Shouta was as a teacher? Koharu chewed on her thumbnail as she tried to watch Shouta's return to the class, but her eyes kept sliding back to Midoriya. Midoriya was being given a second chance, but what had Shouta said to him? The green-haired boy was muttering to himself, his eyes downcast and shadows over his eyes.

He just looked so different than he had that morning, Koharu thought. A smile suited him better. She just couldn't help herself— "You've got this, Midoriya!"

His head snapped up to look at her, seeing her cheer with two thumbs up. He looked genuinely shocked, like no one had ever cheered for him before. First, a smile came over his face, and then a look of serious determination. He nodded to her.

When Midoriya threw the ball, it burst through the air and soared into the sky in an arc only paralleled by Uraraka's infinity throw. Various students cried out in shock as the ball soared through the air, finally landing hundreds of meters away. Even Koharu let out a loud, "Holy shit!"

Midoriya turned around, clutching his arm and tears gathering in the corners of his bright eyes. One of his fingers was discoloured and shaking, and Midoriya's smile was more of a grimace than anything else, but Koharu thought he looked incredibly cool at that moment.

"He got over 700 meters?!"

"A hero-like record!" Uraraka cried gleefully, shooting both her hands up into the air.

"But his finger is swollen," observed Iida. "And there was the entrance exam, too… he has a strange Quirk." Koharu was really starting to regret missing Midoriya's entrance exam, she thought. She would have to ask someone what happened.

The only one who didn't seem impressed with Midoriya was Bakugou. Explosions were already firing as the heated boy began to run at Midoriya, shouting at him for an explanation. He was only a few feet away from Midoriya when Shouta wrapped his capture device around Bakugou, the cloth snapping hard around his chest and forehead. From behind Shouta, the class was frozen in quiet trepidation at the confrontation.

"What the—? These cloths are hard!" Bakugou said as he struggled against Shouta's tight hold. Koharu knew his battle well, having her own fair share of experience tangled in the cloth.

"They're weapons for capture constructed with carbon fiber woven together with a metal wire made of a special alloy," Shouta explained grouchily. He gave a small yank, and Bakugou stumbled slightly closer. "Don't keep making me use my Quirk over and over. I have dry-eye."

_Complainer,_ thought Koharu.

Seemingly content that Bakugou wouldn't eviscerate Midoriya, Shouta released the blond. "This is a waste of time," he said in a mutter. "Whoever's next, get ready."

Koharu was glad that she had already gone— she didn't want to try to follow Midoriya's performance, not when everyone was paying such eager attention. As another student took his place, Midoriya returned to the group with his injured arm still held in his grip.

Koharu eagerly approached him, keen to make up for the Aizawa-assholery from earlier. "Midoriya, that was so cool! But is your finger okay?"

The boy in question smiled and began to stammer out reassurances, his face a vibrant pink. For someone who wanted to be a Hero, Koharu was starting to think that he didn't like the attention that much. "I— I'll be okay! Thank you for cheering for me, Koharu!"

Koharu grinned and offered him another thumbs up. "Of course! You looked like you needed it." However, after taking another glance at his mangled fingers, Koharu's smile dimmed. "Shouldn't you go see the nurse, though? That looks really bad…"

Midoriya pulled his wrist closer to his chest, and shook his head wildly. "Don't worry about me!"

"Okay," Koharu said, eyeing the boy once more. "I'll keep cheering for you, then. I think you'll really need it to finish the rest of the tests like that." Midoriya's responding smile was bashful, but it still made Koharu happy.

Koharu took it upon herself to be Midoriya's partner for the next three tests, managing to beat him with both the sit-ups and seated toe-touches. Despite her words, she was worried. The poor guy was fighting through the pain, desperate to complete the tests, but he still seemed to be coming up short compared to the rest of the class. Koharu cracked joke after joke to lighten the mood, and Midoriya laughed with her with seeming ease, but she could see the pain in his movements and the fear in his eyes. At the end of it all, Shouta would be expelling one student… and it looked like it would be Midoriya.

Even if she didn't want to abandon her new friend, Koharu couldn't help but leave Midoriya behind when it came time to the long-distance run. At the end, he was on the ground panting as she stood straight with ease. She hoped it wasn't symbolic. She offered him a hand up, and he was grateful to take it.

They walked together when Shouta called them around to reveal the scores. Midoriya was holding onto his wrist again— Koharu didn't know how much it could really be doing for the pain, so she thought it must just be for comfort. She clasped her own hands tightly together behind her back to avoid doing anything weird like trying to comfort the boy herself.

"Okay, I'll quickly tell you the results," said Shouta. "It's a waste of time explaining it verbally, so I'll just show you the results all at once." With that, he tapped on his device and a scoreboard was projected in front of him.

Koharu was in thirteenth place. She tried not to feel disappointed, but she failed entirely when she continued reading down the list and found Midoriya's name in last place. Beside her, Midoriya was already shaking. Koharu let herself place a hand on his shoulder.

Hopefully they could stay in touch.

"By the way," Shouta started blandly, "I was lying about the expulsion."

_Eh?!_

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**My celebration continues: it's a double update :) thank you to everyone that has read this far. **


	5. Presidents and Traditions

**A big thank you once again to M, who has reveiwed every chapter. Your continuing support inspires me to keep writing. To Greenz, who pulled a line straight from my story to tell me you laughed at it: I was so happy to read your review, and I'm really glad that my depiction of Aizawa as a distaster-dad is coming through. **

**Thank you as well to everyone who have followed, favourited, or read this story at all. I hope that you'll enjoy chapter five.**

* * *

_Chapter Five: Presidents and Traditions_

* * *

When the school day ended, Koharu was truly just ready to go home and hang out with her cat. It turns out that school was still school, even if it was Hero-oriented, and therefore it was really boring. It was made even worse by the fact that it was the first day, so other than the mind-fucking phsycial tests they did with Shotua, Class 1-A practically did nothing.

Koharu's bag was half-slung over one of her shoulders and she walked with a slight trudge to her step as she headed through the halls. The bounce of someone falling into step with her was instantly noticed.

"Hey!" It was Uraraka, a beaming smile on her face and her hands loosely gripping onto the straps of her backpack. "Koharu, let's walk out together!"

"Sure," said Koharu. She straightened herself up to look like less of a slob next to the bubbly girl. "Do you walk home?"

Uraraka walked with a bounce in her step. "I'm going to the station."

"Oh." She tried not to sound disappointed, but she still felt it. "Do you live very far away?"

Uraraka's hair moved quite a bit as she shook her head, Koharu thought. She wondered if gravity affected her differently because of her Quirk.

"No, it's not so far! And I don't mind the trip," Uraraka said. Her smile twinged conspiratorial. "I like to people-watch."

"Me too," agreed Koharu easily, and smiled at Uraraka in return. "I like to make up stories for them."

"Me _too_!" Uraraka's smile was eager, and one of her hands loosely shook Koharu's arm, as if she didn't already have Koharu's full attention. "Just today, I saw a man on his way to a job interview to be the next President of Canada."

Koharu's laugh was startled but genuine. "I don't think that Canada has a president," she said. "But how did you know?"

"He had a maple-leaf pin on his lapel, and he was carrying a briefcase."

"Oh, so it was obvious," Koharu agreed seriously.

The girls were giggling together as they exited the school, but someone quickly caught Uraraka's attention. She pointed far ahead of them. "Hey, isn't that Deku and Iida?"

"Uh," Koharu squinted ahead, and could make out the bulk of Iida's tall figure and the green mop that was Midoriya's hair. "Yes, I think so. Should we catch up with them?"

Uraraka responded by pulling Koharu along as she started to jog. "Hey!" She shouted, waving her free hair in the air. "You two!"

_Descriptive_, thought Koharu. It was enough, though. The two boys stopped and turned around, looking shocked to see them. "Yo!" She called with a big wave of her own, now that they had their attention. She slowed down behind Uraraka.

"Koharu," Iida acknowledged the girl with a nod of his head. "You're the infinity girl," Iida then observed as a greeting to Uraraka. She didn't mind, smiling brightly as she stopped in front of their classmates.

"I'm Ochaco Uraraka!" She introduced herself. Koharu caught up behind her, and stood beside the taller girl. "Um, you're Tenya Iida, and you're Deku Midoriya, right?"

"Deku?!" Midoriya repeated, startled by the name. Koharu had been as well— she had thought his name was Izuku.

"But during the fitness test, the boy named Bakugou said— 'Deku, you bastard!'" Uraraka innocently inquired, the curse sounding wrong on her lips. "Right?"

Midoriya pushed his fingers together, fidgeting with the attention. "Uh," he began to stammer. Suddenly his hands were moving back and forth in a nervous twitch as he explained, "My real name is Izuku, but D-Deku is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me…"

"It's an insult?" Iida asked, regarding Midoriya seriously.

"Oh, is that so?" Uraraka said, looking guilty. "I'm sorry!"

Koharu hiked up her backpack a bit, starting to regret carrying it over one-shoulder no matter how cool she thought she looked. "Y'know, 'Deku' sounds a lot like the word for 'you can do it'," she added in, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Beside her, Uraraka began to nod along vigorously, making Koharu smile. "It's actually kind of cool!"

Midoriya turned a bright red and shouted, "I'm Deku!"

Iida turned to Midoriya in shock and began to question why he would accept the insult so easily, but Koharu couldn't hear him over the sound of her own nervous, flattered laughter. Midoriya turned to hide his face, mumbling through his hands about a Copernican Revolution.

"Co-pe?" Uraraka repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

Still grinning, Koharu patted Uraraka's arm. "Don't worry about it," Koharu quickly assured her, hoping to get the spotlight off of Midoriya before his head literally burst. "Are you guys headed to the station?"

With the attention directed away from his nickname, Midoriya was able to turn around and nod with Iida. "Y-yes. What about you two?"

"I am!" Uraraka responded as she wound her arm around Koharu's, and began guiding the group to walk away. Her cheerful energy made her easy to follow. "But Koharu is walking, so we have to make our time count!"

Koharu smiled, and bent her elbow slightly to better accommodate Uraraka's arm. Uraraka was right— and Koharu would use her time to gossip. "What did you guys think about Aizawa-sensei?"

Iida was the first to respond, placing a hand against his chin as he said, "I had been really taken in by Aizawa-sensei. He seemed like the best of the best." He paused to cross his arms, and looked severely disappointed. "I didn't think that a teacher would use a lie to encourage us."

"Yeah! Deku, I bet that you're feeling really relieved right now!" Uraraka called out his last-place position bluntly, a smile still on her face. "I had no idea that it was a trick!"

"I don't think that it was a trick, y'know," said Koharu, pressing a finger against her chin in thought. "I've heard of Eraserhead, and he's not really one for playing around. I think that he was telling the truth, but that Midoriya changed his mind." All three of her classmates turned their attention to her, Midoriya with a red tinge to his face that the others didn't have. Koharu didn't really want to embarrass him again— she laughed it off. "But what do I know, right?"

She could see a gear turning in Iida's head, and then the lightbulb going off. "What did you say that your last name was again, Koharu?"

"I think you remember," she said with a twinkle in her eye instead of answering directly. Koharu broke away from the group without hesitation when they hit the sidewalk. "Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow, right? Get home safely!"

Uraraka waved in a giant arc, saying, "You too, Koharu! Walk home safely!"

"See you tomorrow!" Midoriya's voice was quiet but his smile was no less genuine as he waved Koharu off.

It was Iida who called after her next, his voice just a bit smug, "We will see you tomorrow, Aizawa-san!"

"A-Aizawa?!"

Koharu left them with the sound of Midoriya shrieking, a laugh in her throat and a bounce in her step. It was good to have friends, she thought.

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

"I'm home," Shouta called from the front door, coming in just after six o'clock. He was greeted by the sight of Koharu hunched in the cupboard. "Stop snacking," he scolded.

"Sorry," she meekly replied with a guilty smile, stepping out from behind the cupboard door and closing it softly. "I didn't know when you would be home."

Shouta shucked off his shoes and tossed his bag onto the floor. "Whatever," he grunted. "You did a good job today."

The compliment came so suddenly that Koharu almost missed it. She caught it just before it flew over her head, and it turned her smile bashful. "You really think so?"

"You did come in thirteenth without using your Quirk once," Shouta unnecessarily reminded her as he stepped through the threshold, standing across the small kitchen from Koharu.

Koharu pouted at the reminder. "About that," she started, trying not to mumble. "You made that big deal about using our Quirks since we couldn't before, but then I couldn't use mine at all. I feel like I missed the point of the test."

Shouta scoffed, and began to shuffle out of the room. "Yeah, you obviously did. But don't go asking for extra credit lessons from me, damn brat." He ignored Koharu's offended squawk and pointedly closed his bedroom door behind him.

"What's even the point of being related to you then?!" Koharu aggressively inquired to the door, who didn't grace her with a response. "Pah," she said.

She'd make instant ramen for dinner, she thought. Shouta didn't look like he would be putting effort in any time soon. Koharu had been caught in the cupboard because she was hungry, damn it, and the young hero-in-training deserved sustenance. She reached to open the door—

"I fucking told you to stop snacking!"

Koharu hurled it open anyway and pulled out a granola bar. Turning her head to the wall that seperated Shouta and herself, she shouted, "You can't stop me! I'm not using a Quirk!" Koharu slammed the cupboard door closed, and for added measure, she tacked on a loud, "Shithead!"

"I will end you."

Koharu's stomach dropped. She screamed as she whirled around to find Shouta standing in the kitchen door frame with crossed arms. He had changed from his work clothes into his pajamas and was doing a poor job of hiding his amusement at Koharu's reaction. "Put a damn bell on! Jeez!"

Shouta's face wobbled something fierce as he tried to scold her through his mirth. "Don't slam doors, brat."

"I didn't know that cupboard doors counted."

"They do now," Shouta decreed. He uncrossed his arms and crossed the room instead, heading towards the fridge. "For your disobedience, I'm eating one of your slices of pizza."

Koharu perked up, and repeated, "Pizza?"

The older Aizawa cast her a look over his shoulder, his expression insulted. "It's tradition. I'm surprised that you weren't up my ass about this, honestly."

Koharu was all but vibrating with excitement, and shot across the room to get a look over Shouta's shoulder into the freezer. "You got the kind with cheese in the crust?!" She gasped. "How extravagant!"

Shouta shot an elbow back to shove Koharu away, grumbling as he pulled the frozen pizza out. Like Koharu claimed, it was cheese-stuffed and covered in toppings that Shouta didn't particularly enjoy. "What would be _extravagant_ would be to order a real pizza," he corrected as he allowed Koharu to yank the box from his hands.

"This is real pizza!" Koharu instantly defended as she held the box close to her chest. "How is it not real pizza? We can eat it, can't we?"

"Hardly," Shouta grumbled.

"You love it and you know it." Koharu was already reading the box, looking for the temperature they would need to set the oven to. "That's the real reason that you got the pizza without me saying anything."

Rolling his eyes, Shouta placed his hand on top of Koharu's head— she dipped down a moment from the unexpected and sudden weight. He ruffled her hair mercilessly before shoving her head away. "No, I love you."

Koharu looked at him through her new tousled hairstyle, and grinned brightly. "And the pizza." Shouta aimed to shove Koharu's head again, but she ducked out of his reach.

"Just don't burn it," said Shouta as he took his leave once more, this time entering their living room and plopping himself down onto the couch. He had to fight through a mountain of blankets to find a spot, of course, but that just made cocooning himself afterwards easier.

Koharu joined him a couple minutes later, wrapping herself up in the blankets next to Shouta without an invitation. He grunted when an elbow struck his ribs, but otherwise gave no argument. "Do you wanna watch something together?"

"Only if it's not stupid."

"I only like stupid stuff, though."

"Don't remind me," Shouta was with a small groan, thinking of all the dumb shit he had overheard or been forced to watch over the years. There was a pause before he grumbled, "We can watch that dumb _Hero Wars_, or whatever."

Koharu was already reaching for the remote. "I know just the episode!"

As Koharu continued to completely spoil the plot of the episode they were seconds away from watching anyway, Shouta leaned back and thought, _This is going to be a long night._ He tossed an arm over the back of the couch behind the rambling Koharu, grabbed another blanket, and got comfortable.


	6. The Costume Parade

**Hello all, and welcome to chapter six! **_**Wannabe Heroes**_ **is now up to 27 followers, which makes me feel so happy and grateful that I could combust. "Presidents and Traditions" received 3 reviews, which is a top for me right now! I would like to thank F.B.100 for their insightful review, as well as HogwartsGraduate for theirs! And as always, thank you so much to M for your continuous support.**

* * *

_Chapter Six: The Costume Parade_

* * *

Koharu could practically taste the excitement in the air as her class marched towards their first lesson in Hero training— for real this time, not some shitty psychological warfare like Shouta had provided the day before. Uraraka chattered eagerly beside her, hanging off of Koharu's arm like she was worried she might start to float in her excitement.

It was something she remembered her father doing as well.

"Y'know, Uraraka," said Koharu, interrupting the girl at her first pause for breath. "I'm really excited to see you in action. I bet that you're really strong."

Uraraka's cheeks, a permanent shade of pink, darkened even more as she gave Koharu a pleased smile. "I bet that you're really strong too, Koharu. Let's do our best today!" Her eyes slid closed, beaming brightly towards Koharu like the sunshine she was. "And I'm excited to see your Quirk, too!"

It wasn't on purpose, but Koharu's Quirk had yet to come out to the class. Unlike a grand majority of them, her Quirk wasn't able to help her at all during the physical tests— those she had to get by with her kickass determination and fitness enthusiasm alone. When the girls had retreated to the locker room, eagerly talking about and complimenting each other's' Quirks, Koharu just got so caught up in observation that she forgot to partake. And then when they realized Koharu had kept quiet and Mina made such a ruckus about it, she couldn't help but enjoy the mystery of it all. The _drama_.

"What's the big deal about Quirks?" asked Koharu with a pronounced shrug of her shoulders. "I'm not that interested."

"But Koharu—" interrupted Tsuyu, having overheard the two girls as they were all walking the same way. "—you seemed really interested in our Quirks yesterday."

"Yeah!" And there was Mina again, falling perfectly into step and speaking loud enough to catch a few more eyes. "And I saw you taking notes about Kirishima's Quirk this morning!"

Well, Koharu was about ready to curl up and die. Her face flushed the same bright red as Kirishima's hair as the boy turned around at his name, now interested in the conversation if it involved him. Koharu tried to stutter together an explanation. "I— uh, that's actually—"

Yeah, she was drawing a blank. There weren't a lot of ways around that one.

"She chose the right guy to take notes about!" said Kirishima with a thumb jabbed to his bare chest, saving her from replying. His pointy teeth were bared in a grin. "I really impressed you, right, Koharu?"

"Of course," Koharu quickly replied despite the deep blush that still covered her face and disappeared into the wrappings around her neck. "Everyone did."

"Did you take notes about me too, Koharu?"

"Yeah! What about me?!"

Koharu raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm sorry, guys! I don't share my notes. I like to doodle in the margins and it's very embarrassing, y'know."

"What?" said Mina with a large pout. "That's not embarrassing!"

Solemn through her lie, Koharu replied, "I'm very shy."

"That's okay," said Uraraka with a comforting pat to Koharu's upper arm. "We—"

They were interrupted by one of their classmates calling that they could see All Might through the doorway of the battle centre. Conversations halted to turn to excited murmurings as the class broke into the sunlight, revealing their hero costumes to the world for the first time.

With All Might standing in front of them, the class spread out like a cluster of eager supermodels. Koharu did her best to stand as tall as she could, still coming up shorter than most of her classmates save Mineta. Even so— she thought she looked pretty fucking cool.

Koharu's costume was mostly black and slim cut, designed for easy movement. Utility pockets lined the sides of her high-waisted pants, currently empty save a lone granola bar. White-laced black combat boots donned her feet, and nestled at the top of her head was a pair of hot pink goggles. Grey wrappings wound around both of her arms and around her neck, some falling loosely around her shoulders in a mimicry of Eraserhead's own capture device.

Shouta was going to _hate it_.

"That's great, everyone!" All Might said, his voice like thunder despite the wide smile on his face. "You all look cool!"

Surrounded by her classmates wearing their own childhood dreams come true, Koharu felt so light that she just might float away herself.

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

Combat training would be a Heroes vs. Villains scenario, the class broken up into teams of two to battle each other over the objective, a fake bomb. Through the draw, Koharu ended up paired with Kirishima into Team J, earning her a high-five that left her palm stinging. Before they could start their match, they would have to watch however many came before them— starting with Midoriya and Uraraka versus Bakugou and Iida.

As the class was ushered off to an observation room, Koharu could tell that they were all itching for their chance at playing Hero. For Koharu, she knew that this exercise would be her most valuable time for observing her classmates' Quirks and how best to utilize them. Without knowing who her opponents would be, it was impossible for her to start strategizing against them, which meant she could devote her time to taking mental notes.

Uraraka's Quirk she already understood fairly well, as Koharu was endlessly curious and Uraraka too kind to turn away her questions, and after racing against Iida, Koharu thought that she understood the basis of his Quirk as well. It was Midoriya and Bakugou who were mysteries to her. Both boys had supposedly outshined the rest at the entrance exams, but Koharu had yet to see what was so great about their Quirks other than being able to throw baseballs further than average.

"You look really focused right now."

"Eh?" Koharu looked up from examining the large screen in front of them, realizing that it had been her partner that spoke to her. Kirishima grinned back at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Absently, Koharu noted that he was ridiculously buff for a teenager. "Sorry— I guess I am."

"If you're worried about the exercise, don't be!" One of Kirishima's arms raised from their twist, allowing him to jab a thumb against his chest. "You already know how impressive I am, right?"

Koharu pretended to cough to hide her suddenly hot face. She was never taking her notes in class again, if this was the result. "I'm not worried," she said. "I could kick your ass if I wanted to. We've got an easy win between the two of us."

"That's manly as hell!"

"Oh, you know it."

Koharu and Kirishima grinned at each other, the redhead's sharp canines outshining Koharu's by a margin.

"Now then," All Might suddenly boomed, a superfluous mic held up to his mouth. He was loud enough to shake a city, Koharu thought. "Let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training with Team A and Team D!"

Koharu's attention zipped back to the theatre-sized monitor, currently showcasing empty rooms around the building. It rotated between feeds, allowing the class glimpses of the two teams as they prepared for the challenge.

Kirishima nudged her with an elbow, and whispered, "My money is on Bakugou and Iida."

Glancing towards her partner from the corner of her eye, Koharu considered his words for a moment. She turned her attention back to the monitor, watching as Mirodiya and Uraraka snuck into the building through a window. Quietly she replied, "You're on. Uraraka and Midoriya will win."

She had to support her fellow women, after all. Koharu hadn't been lying when she told Uraraka that she thought she was strong— a Quirk that allowed her to manipulate Gravity was incredibly strong, if the girl used it correctly. She firmly believed in her new friends' capability of winning the match.

That didn't necessarily mean they would start with a lead, however. Not even a minute after entering the building, Bakugou was upon them with a fierce explosion sent from his hands. Smoke billowed out from the collison, momentarily blocking from view that Uraraka and Midoriya had managed to evade the blow with Midoriya's quick reaction time. Half of Midoriya's mask had been destroyed by the blast, revealing his determined expression.

"A surprise attack from the start!"

"Bakugou, that's cheating!" Kirishima declared as he pounded his fist into his palm. "A surprise attack isn't manly at all!"

Koharu was quick to disagree. "Surprise attacks are an extremely useful strategy— it's a good choice."

"That's right!" All Might said approvingly. "They're in the middle of a real battle right now."

Mina spoke next, her voice filled with excitement as she stepped closer to the screen. "Midoriya avoided it!"

"There goes Bakugou!"

Indeed, the blond was rushing forwards towards Team A with a crazed sneer on his face, yelling something unheard by the class. Koharu's heart fluttered as Midoriya unexpectedly countered Bakugou's attack, swinging the boy swiftly over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. _Wow!_

No one had been expecting that. The class erupted, Koharu included. "Fuck yeah, Midoriya!"

"He's like a martial arts master!"

Koharu whirled to Kirishima, a new light in her eyes. "Still liking that bet, buddy?"

"Don't discount Bakugou yet, Koharu!" he quickly responded, his hands held up in eager fists. As he dropped them, he said, "I just wish we could hear what they were saying. You can't really tell with the cameras in a fixed position and no sound."

"He's talking to his partner over the small wireless radio," All Might supplied, gesturing to his own earpiece. "You can bring that plus the building's floor plan, and this capture tape!" With that, he held up a small roll of tape between his fingers. "Once you wrap this around your opponent, it shows that you've captured them!"

Koharu reached up to finger the edges of the capture device hanging asymmetrically over her shoulders. Hers would certainly be more useful, but she supposed she could compromise with using both.

"There's a fifteen minute time-limit, right?" Asked Mina, the masked girl starting to sound a bit distressed. "And the heroes have no idea where the bomb is? They're at a total disadvantage!"

All Might shook his head, his blond spikes of hair motionless. Koharu wondered how much gel was involved. "Heroes should be able to turn the tables on whatever predicament they're in! And besides," he tilted his head, eyes glinting dangerously. "Didn't Aizawa-sensei tell you? You know, here we go—"

"_Plus Ultra_!" The room cried together, Koharu raising an eager fist like All Might.

"Monsieur," interrupted the fair-haired Aoyama. "Bakugou is—"

Koharu's eyes shot back to the screen, watching as Bakugou used the force of his explosions to propel himself towards Midoriya. Midoriya blocked his kick with his forearms, and wound the capture tape around Bakugou's ankle in a swift motion. To maneuver himself free, Bakugou swung out with his right arm firing another explosion that Midoriya dodged as he freed himself completely.

"That guy's amazing!" cried Sato, clad in a skintight yellow jumpsuit that served to highlight his large lips.

Beside him, Sero spoke through his mask, his voice laden with awe, "He's not even using his Quirk against the guy who finished first in the entrance exam!"

Silent, Koharu bit her lip. She wondered if Midoriya was like her. His finger had been shattered after using his Quirk during the fitness test, and she knew that it had been a terrible, painful shade of purple until Recovery Girl repaired it. If that was always the result of using his Quirk, Koharu wouldn't be surprised if he too was scraping by through sheer determination and sweat.

She felt her admiration of him grow. She had chosen the right team to root for, even if they were against Bakugou's powerful Quirk. Koharu loved a good underdog.

The match between Team A and Team D was watched with bated breath by Koharu, and a nonstop series of exclamations from the peanut gallery that was Class 1-A. Bakugou moved with all the ferocity of a true villain, his strides angry and purposeful— Koharu really had to hand it to him for getting into character, because he seemed downright scary.

Uraraka and Midoriya quickly broke up to fight their opponents separately, Midoriya being pursued by Bakugou and Ochako aiming for their prize. Ochako was quick to find Iida and the fake bomb, but the two were in a stand-off as there was nothing left in the room for Ochako to use her Quirk on other than Iida himself. Meanwhile, Midoriya and Bakugou met again in a hallway on the bottom floor, exchanging muted verbal blows once more.

"Young Bakugou, stop! Are you trying to kill him?!"

All Might's shout was all the warning they had before Bakugou released an unprecedented explosion, tearing up the walls and floor of the hallway and blasting out the exterior wall of the building.

"Oh fuck!" Koharu cried out in shock, unable to see how the boy would have been able to dodge such a large explosion.

"Young Midoriya!" All Might called into his mic, holding it needlessly close to his face as he shouted.

The smoke cleared to reveal a battered Midoriya, struggling to sit up amongst the chaos of the room. On another screen, Uraraka darted forwards towards the nuclear bomb to make an unsuccessful attempt at retrieval.

"Sensei, you should stop them!" Kirishima exclaimed, his attention darting back and forth between All Might and the monitor. "Bakugou will kill him!"

_He had your vote of confidence ten minutes ago_, Koharu thought. _Would he still technically win even if he killed the opposing team?_

"Young Bakugou, the next time you use that, I'll stop the fight and your team will lose," All Might said firmly into his microphone. "To attack on such a large scale inside of a building is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. It's a foolish plan for both heroes and villains!"

Bakugou grumbled up at the ceiling, but was quick to launch another attack at Midoriya, rocketing over the green-clad hero and firing off a blast towards his back. The class cried out around Koharu, pained as if they had been hit themselves.

"What was that?!"

"He doesn't look like the type to think— he's more subtle than I imagined," said Todoroki from near the back of the group, speaking up for the first time. Mina and Kirishima were quick to give their attention over to him, but Koharu wasn't ready to take her eyes off of the fight as Todoroki explained Bakugou's move to his audience.

Yaoyorozu chimed with her agreement as Bakugou slammed his gauntlet against Midoriya's back and whirled the two around, sending Midoriya hurtling forward to the ground in a brutal mimicry of Midoriya's earlier move against the explosive blond.

"This is lynching! He can just capture him at this point, he doesn't need to keep attacking him!" cried Mina.

"Maah, and I thought Midoriya was pretty cool," said Kaminari as he scratched his cheek, seeming unbothered by the violence in front of them. "But in terms of combat power, Bakugou is a ball of natural instincts…"

On screen, Midoriya wobbled to his feet and began running as best as he could away from Bakugou. "He's running away?" Observed Kirishima, disbelief in his voice. "It's not very manly, but I guess he doesn't have a choice."

Koharu shook her head, not ready to give up on the Hero Team just yet. "I think I know the look in his eyes. I'm sure he has a plan."

"Something is strange," reluctantly agreed Kirishima as they watched the monitor closely.

Bakugou seemingly never stopped yelling, but Midoriya was shouting back now, a fire in his watery eyes. Suddenly the two were running towards each other, fists pulled back as Bakugou's gauntlet began to power up and Midoriya's arm began to radiate a warm glow.

"This looks really bad!" Kirishima exclaimed. The class began to shout. "Sir!"

Just before they collided, All Might finally spoke. "Both of you, st—"

Something halted his words in his throat, and the two teens collided in the centre of the room, creating a wind tunnel that burst through the building in a split second. Floors above the two, Uraraka swung a dislodged column like a bat through the resulting debris, sending it hurtling towards an unsuspecting Iida. As he was forced to dodge, Uraraka propelled herself across the room and captured the bomb.

The hero team had won. But Midoriya's right arm was that same sickening shade of purple that they had seen the day before, and his left was blackened from taking on Bakugou's explosion straight-on. The class was for once completely silent in the observation room, breathless from the unexpected end of match.

"Hero…" All Might quietly began, looking to be shaking himself out of his own stupor. "Hero team…. WINS!"

On screen, Midoriya collapsed.


	7. Newfound Abilities

**Welcome back to _Wannabe Heroe_s! I hope that everyone is staying safe and doing their part during these worrying times. My hands are so dry that they could be mistaken for coral. A big thank you to M for their review on the last chapter.**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Newfound Abilities

* * *

Politely as she could muster, Koharu sipped at her hot chocolate and avoided eye contact with the two men across from her. Her green mug was so large that she had to hold it with both hands while she drank, and the rim completely obscured her vision when she tilted it back.

"I guess I should have given you a smaller mug," said a warm voice past her tableware. "Sorry! I'll find some for next time!"

"It's fine. She doesn't need you to buy things for her," quickly replied Shouta.

Hizashi pouted, and his voice grew louder as it so often did. "But she's so cute!"

Koharu's little hands slammed her mug back onto the table. "I'm super deadly!" She chimed in, unable to stop herself from letting out a righteous retort. "I'm not cute!"

Red-rimmed eyes slid over to Koharu, swimming with mirth. "Sorry, kid. You're fucking cute."

"Shouta!" cried Hizashi as he slapped his hand over the other's mouth. "You can't swear in front of a kid!" Shouta's grumbled argument was lost to Hizashi's sweaty palm. Koharu probably would have licked it by now, but Shouta was too _rational_ for that.

Hizashi suddenly pulled back his hand with a yelp, a look of disgust on his face. Koharu began to laugh— Shouta had licked him after all.

"I didn't come here to have your gross hands touching my face, asshole," said Shouta with a scowl on his young features. "Koharu, are you ready or not?"

The amusement slid off of Koharu's face, leaving her pale and shaking on the tattered brown couch.

Shouta had gone easy on her the night before, but he would hear no arguments when he came home and declared that the two of them would be going over to "a friend's" house. It wasn't that Koharu disliked Shouta's _friends_; he really only seemed to have the one, and Hizashi had a way of making Koharu forget that there was anything bad in the world, and so she wouldn't have cared if they were just going for a visit.

But she knew that it was no simple visit. Koharu was six, but she was not stupid. Shouta wanted to see her Quirk. He had tried to hide it, but Koharu knew that he was excited about her finally discovering her ability. Beneath all the regret, Koharu could admit that she was a little bit excited too.

The Aizawas had waited _so long_ for Koharu's Quirk. It was her parents who were the most vocal about it. Sitting outside the kitchen, it was all that Koharu ever heard her parents talking about. _Quirkless_, they said. Her mother spat it out like a curse word, and she cried when she thought Koharu wasn't looking. Koharu was certain that if she could just find her Quirk, then the problems in her family would be solved, and so she didn't give up hope. She would wait patiently for the day that she would discover her Quirk, and then she would prove her parents wrong and become a hero so strong that Eraserhead would be lining up to be her sidekick, and the whole family could be happy again.

But then her parents were gone. And her newfound Quirk was terrifying. Koharu was _not_ ready.

She hadn't even meant to use it. One second, she had been watching the boys tussle, and the next, there was an ear-splitting crack and Juzo's bone was poking out of his forearm. Juzo started crying, and the class was in chaos, and she couldn't turn her Quirk off even as the teachers started bouncing off the walls of solid air that Juzo started breathing out— the other boy's Quirk. By the time the colour drained from Koharu's eyes, Jozu had already crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap. It took the teachers three minutes to get to him around the barriers.

What kind of hero caused that? What kind of hero _hurt people_?

Koharu was sent to the principal's office, but she supposedly _hadn't actually done anything_ to deserve punishment, and so she was sent back to class for the afternoon. Later that night, Shouta would call her actions heroic. But that afternoon, walking back into that classroom, the eyes of her classmates told a different story.

Y_ou're no hero. You're the bad guy._

Koharu didn't realize that she was crying until she was already wrapped in Hizashi's skinny arms. She wondered when he pulled her into his lap. To Shouta, he hissed a quiet, "I told you not to swear at her!"

Shouta's arms were hovering in front of him awkwardly, like Hizashi had beaten him to the punch at reaching Koharu. His voice was tinged with panic as he replied, "I didn't swear at her! I swore in front of her! That's totally different!"

"Clearly it's not!" Hizashi hissed between comforting pats against Koharu's head. He tucked Koharu close to his chest, where she could feel the rumbles of his booming voice. "It's okay, little Koharu! I won't let that mean man get you."

"Hey!"

"That terrible, terrible man," Hizashi continued. "Just dreadful. Such a sourpuss." He paused, and then nudged Koharu as he added, "He smells bad, too."

Shouta's grumbled threats were lost under the voice of Koharu's watery giggle.

"Can you tell me why you're crying, little Koharu?"

There were a lot of things that Koharu wanted to say, but none of them could grow to fruition with Shouta's concerned eyes leering down at her. She didn't know how to be honest with him again when he had already decisively ended the conversation. But she had to say something, so she settled on a half-truth.

"I r-really hurt Juzo yesterd-d-day…" Koharu stuttered out, her voice all snot and sinus.

"Ah! Such a sweet soul!" Hizashi passionately exclaimed. Unable to resist throwing in a jab at his friend, he turned to Shouta and added, "Are you sure you two are related?"

"Does that really matter right now?" Shouta asked gruffly. When Koharu looked at him, his face was scrunched up like he had eaten something sour. "Koharu, I thought we already talked about this."

Ah. She had disappointed him still.

Hizashi tightened his grip around Koharu, giving her a big squeezing hug as though sensing the pit of despair that had just opened up beneath her. "It's okay if you're not ready, little Koharu. But nothing bad is going to happen here! You're with two Pros, yeah!"

Koharu rubbed her face on Hizashi's sleeve, trying to wipe away her tears on the fabric. "D-do you really want to see my Quirk?" Koharu shyly asked, unable to stamp down the very large part of her that wanted the Pro-Hero to think that she was cool.

Ignoring the mess on his sweater with all the grace of Prince Charming, Hizashi's answering smile and nod were vigorous. "Of course! But only if you want to show us."

"Well…" quietly began Koharu as she nervously pushed her fingers together. "I… I guess maybe I could show you, if you wanna see it, Hizashi…"

"What the hell am I, chopped liver?" grumbled Shouta as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You certainly smell like it," Hizashi shot without malice as he squeezed Koharu tightly once more before depositing her back into her spot. He sat down next to Shouta and expertly dodged the slap aimed for his head. "I would love to see your Quirk, Koharu."

There was just one problem, other than the brewing tussle between the two young men. "I don't know how to do it," Koharu quietly admitted.

With his armpit firmly planted over Shouta's face, Hizashi offered up his advice. "Don't think about it so much!" A firm shove from Shouta sent the blond tumbling out of his seat. He jumped back up, uninterrupted. "Just feel it out!"

A pause. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"We can't—" Shouta grunted as Hizashi starting yanking at his leg, kicking out at him with vehemence, "Argh, fuck _off_, Hizashi— we can't tell you how to use your Quirk, Koharu."

Koharu let out a deep sigh as she twiddled with her thumbs. "Juzo already had his Quirk activated when—" she swallowed thickly around the words, her tongue just a bit too big for them.

"NO PROBLEM," suddenly boomed through the apartment, Hizashi having activated his Quirk with glee from his place on the floor. Koharu's hands were quick to cover her ears, but Shouta looked resigned to the noise. The remaining liquid in her mug rippled as Hizashi continued, "SHOULD I SING A SONG FOR YOU?"

"No," mouthed Shouta.

"OOOOOHHHH—"

The next three minutes were painfully spent listening to Hizashi belt a fast-paced English song while Koharu stared intently at his mouth, trying to take his ability away from him and hand it off to Shouta, whose face grew darker the longer the room was filled with Hizashi's belted tune.

"I don't think this is working," Koharu meekly admitted as Hizashi transitioned into a rap.

Shouta huffed, the sound lost to Hizashi's voice. "Just keep trying," he said, looking pained to request more of his friend's boisterous singing.

"How do you activate your Quirk, Shouta?"

Black eyes, persistently red-rimmed and tired, rolled up to the ceiling as Shouta contemplated Koharu's question. Finally, he mumbled a response.

Koharu leaned closer, looking confused and tilting her ear towards her brother. "What?"

"_I said_," Shouta emphasized, trying to project his voice over Hizashi's one-man party, but the rest was lost.

"What did you say?"

Grunting, Shouta straightened up and leaned closer to Koharu as well. "I said—"

"_**I JUST DO IT."**_

Midway through his sentence, Hizashi's incessant singing had drastically lowered in volume, and Shouta's had picked it up. If Koharu had thought Shouta's grumpy voice was scary before, hearing it loud enough to blow her hair back was petrifying. The room seemed to shake with the force of his yell.

And then all Koharu could hear was a loud, persistent ringing. She lifted shaky palms to her ears. In front of her, Shouta was hunched over his knees and mutely hacking. Both of his hands were around his throat. Hizashi was static beside him, frantic in his need to help but not knowing how. The room was swimming, the wallpaper blurring into the bookcase, stretching into long waves and twirling like someone was flushing the house and they were being squeezed away along with it. Hizashi shoved a cold can of ginger ale into her hands.

Koharu hurled.


	8. Cheering for the Villians

**Welcome back! I hope that everyone is enjoying their dry, cracked hands and isolation from society. Thank you so much to Junkers for their two reviews; you really made me laugh with "Grouchy Poppa Aizawa and Vodka Aunt Hizashi". Thank you as well to M— I hope that you continue to enjoy how the Shouta-Koharu-Hizashi dynamic progresses!**

* * *

_Chapter 8: Cheering for the Villains_

* * *

Koharu's mouth felt dry. Around her, the class stood in silent awe, transfixed by the screens before them.

The hero team had won, but no one would have been able to guess it. On one screen, Uraraka was on her knees, a hand pressed against her mouth and Iida rubbing her back. On another, Midoriya was sprawled, undignified, across the floor in front of Bakugou. The building was in ruin.

"What the heck?" Kaminari said, too pure of heart to swear. "The losers are practically uninjured, and the winners are on the ground…" On screen, even Bakugou looked shocked.

Someone clicked their tongue. It was Tokoyami, Koharu's seat-mate, who spoke up. "They lost the battle, but won the war."

Tsuyu, who had been assigned to be Tokoyami's partner and was thus standing with him, shook her head in disbelief. "This was supposed to be training, though…" she countered.

"Shouldn't we go check on Midoriya?" Koharu loudly interrupted the crowd, her eyebrow ticking in frustration at their offhand remarks. "Maybe get Uraraka a ginger ale?"

"Ah, of course! Thank you, Young Aizawa!" shouted All Might. Placing the small microphone that he had been favouring onto a nearby console, All Might swooshed through the room with a proclamation that he would be right back after checking in on 'his bright young pupils'. His absence left the class in another bout of silence.

That silence did not last.

"EHH?!"

"Did All Might just call you 'Aizawa'?"

"Like, Aizawa-sensei?!"

"Have you been a spy this whole time?!"

"Ohmygosh! That's why your costume looks like that!"

Koharu blinked at the onslaught, the class' attention now on her with the revelation of her surname. After a moment, the teen shrugged and said, "I mean, I wasn't trying to hide it." She gave a casual tilt to her head and smiled. "Sorry to deceive you, I guess."

"You don't have to be so cool about it," Mina exclaimed with a bright grin spread across her pink cheeks. "I bet you can get us all sorts of test answers!"

"Yeah!" cried Kaminari. "You must have access to answer sheets!"

Koharu scoffed and replied, "I'm probably worse off than the lot of you. You've met the guy— do you really think I'm going to be getting special treatment, let alone test answers?"

Kaminari visibly deflated. The pout on his face was prominent. "No, I guess not."

Already seeing the questions on the tips of her classmates' tongues, Koharu was quick to continue. "Exactly. So, there's really nothing exciting about it. But you know what was exciting?" She asked, leaning on one hip and pausing only slightly for dramatic effect. "How about that punch?"

No one needed her to elaborate, and the hype of Koharu being an Aizawa was quickly lost to the excited chatter about Midoriya and Bakugou's performance, stretching until All Might inevitably returned to corral them. Bakugou trailed into the surveillance room behind the Pro Hero, his posture screaming 'angry kitten' as he settled near the back of the room.

Iida and Uraraka joined at a slower pace, Uraraka still swaying on her feet and looking ready to upchuck her breakfast. Koharu was quick to wave them over, and gave them two big thumbs up as they approached.

"You guys did great! I didn't know who to root for!"

Seeing a bus, Kirishima was quick to throw her under it. "That's not true. She bet that Uraraka would win."

Koharu let out a small gasp, clutching her chest. "Ugh, utter betrayal. And I'm expected to work with this guy."

"Well then," All Might boomed, effectively ending all conversations with a voice decisive as his punches. "Shall we review the first battle?"

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

Koharu's team would be facing off against Tokoyami and Tsuyu, with Koharu's team earning the privilege of playing Villains. They would be given five minutes to prepare before the Heroes were allowed in, and Kirishima had been quick to find a spot for them to squat and strategize.

While Koharu couldn't say she knew much about Tokoyami's Quirk, she had a fairly firm grasp on what Tsuyu could do. Tsuyu had explained in the locker room the previous day that her Quirk granted her frog-like abilities, including sticking to walls and extending her tongue. As a Mutant-type, Koharu's Quirk would be useless against hers. Not only that, but in the fitness test, Tsuyu had beaten Koharu by one rank. Meanwhile, Tokoyami had scored _fifth_.

After watching Todoroki make fools of his opponents by simply freezing the entire building, Koharu was going into her battle with a pit in her stomach. Would she be enough against the Hero Team? Koharu's Quirk couldn't be properly utilized against Mutant-types.

A shoulder bumped against her own, and Koharu stumbled with her next step. Beside her, Kirishima was grinning through sharp teeth. "Relax. I can hear you worrying!"

Koharu's brow twitched beneath her bangs, and she was quick with a retort. "Then you've got great hearing, for a shark."

"Whaa—?" Kirishima's look was utter betrayal, and one of his hands pointed to his mouth. Koharu mirrored him, pointing to her own mouth with a solemn nod. "That's so mean, Aizawa!"

Already grimacing, Koharu looked towards Kirishima inquisitively. "Did I hurt your feelings? I'm really sorry if I did."

He was quick to shake his head, erasing his put-out expression like an Etch-a-Sketch. "You didn't hurt my feelings or anything! I'm just glad that dark look is off your face." Kirishima defended, and the grin was back on his face. "It takes way more than that to hurt me, anyway."

"Speaking of," Koharu quickly interjected, eager to change the subject before she inadvertently acted like an asshole again, "Your Quirk is Hardening, right?"

Kirishima nodded, and held his hands out for her to see as he activated his Quirk. His skin became jagged and sharp, pointed like he was made of rock rather than flesh. Koharu shamelessly reached out and touched his forearm, unsurprised to find that it felt distinctly inhuman and like it could take a hell of a punch.

"D'you think you can fight without it?"

To her second question, Kirishima's nod came slower. The redhead was an open book, and his eyes shone clear with confusion. "Sure, 'course I could. Why?"

"If you can avoid activating your Quirk, I can probably stop Tokoyami from using his Quirk," Koharu quickly explained. One of her hands reached up to fidget with the goggles atop her head, feeling their round rims and fingering the edges nervously. "I can switch people's Quirks, but if you're using it when I do, then Tokoyami will end up with your defense."

Kirishima tilted his head thoughtfully, considering her words before he asked, "Would I get Tokoyami's Quirk, then?"

"Well, I'm hoping not. If I can switch your Quirks before either are activated, you'll both be essentially Quirkless, y'know. That's what I'm aiming for."

Kirishima furrowed his brow, and crossed his arms over his chest. "What if his Quirk is already activated when we meet them?"

"About that," Koharu said with a creeping smile. "How would you feel about acting a tad _unmanly_?"

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

Koharu's plan worked like a charm. With the intent of borrowing Bakugou's bold move of a sneak attack and backed by Kirishima's surprisingly strong fighting abilities, Koharu and Kirishima were on the Hero team within a minute of them entering the building. Unsuspecting, Tokoyami had yet to activate his Quirk, and from behind her goggles, Koharu's orange eyes ensured that he wouldn't be activating it anytime soon.

At Koharu's signal, Kirishima pounced upon the two, luring Tsuyu to attack him with a snap of her tongue. The frog-mutant was left defenseless against Koharu's capture device as she sprung onto the scene, and Tsuyu had no chance of standing her ground against the pull of the two villain's weight. Forced to let Kirishima go, Tsuyu became tangled in Koharu's capture device and laid immobile on the ground, struggling against the hard metal alloy.

Meanwhile, Tokoyami had been experiencing the unpleasant feeling of being unable to call forth his Quirk, and then the even more-so unpleasant feeling of receiving an uppercut to the jaw by Kirishima's bare fist. Whilst initially taken off guard, for a short while, Tokoyami was able to hold his own against the steadfast redhead, dodging his punches and throwing his own series of blows. However, when Koharu joined the fray, the two were quick to overpower him, and Kirishima successfully bound Tokoyami with the school-supplied capture tape.

"_Villain Team wins!"_

_The fight was over before the Heroes even realized it had begun_, Koharu thought smugly as she and Kirishima stood over their prey, their palms meeting in a satisfying high-five above the heads of their classmates. There was no way their classmates could have anything but praise for their performance.

_Still_, she thought. _It would have been nice to see their Quirks in action._

At the thought, Koharu glanced downwards and locked eyes with a bemused Tokoyami. A nervous laugh bubbled from her chest, followed by a pooling guilt. "Ahh, sorry, guys!" Koharu chirped as she bent down to release the Hero team.

Tsuyu gave them a lopsided smile as Kirishima untied the slim tape from around her, the teen having been swift to follow suit in releasing their classmates. "Do you have the same Quirk as Aizawa-sensei, Koharu?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Freed from his restraints, Tokoyami sat up, and Koharu rolled back onto her heels. "Nah, I can switch people's Quirks. Kirishima couldn't use his Quirk either, not that either of you knew that." Mirroring Tsuyu, Koharu tilted her head and smiled. "I'm just glad that Tokoyami didn't figure out how to harden his skin!"

"Wait," said Kirishima, an expression of surprise flitting across his face. "That was possible? I thought you said that we would be Quirkless!"

"Well, yeah. I did switch your Quirks, y'know." Koharu stood as she answered, missing the hand extended to her by Tokoyami until it was too late. She offered him an apologetic smile before she continued to explain, "It usually takes a minute to figure out how to use someone else's Quirk, if you can at all. Just think of how long it took you to master your own Quirk, and your body was built for that."

"I suppose that's true," Tsuyu said thoughtfully. One of her fingers tapped lightly against her chin now that her hands were freed. "What happens if someone's Quirk is already activated, then?"

The group exchanged glances as Koharu noticeably winced. "Then you just have to control it right away."

"And what happens if someone can't?" Tokoyami asked, his voice tight. Koharu's eyes slid to focus on him, and his twisted expression. His eyes darted continuously back to Kirishima.

_White bone. Red skin. Scorched clothing. Shouta choking._

_Shouta's voice, rasping. Different. _

_Scarred._

Koharu's smile was full of all the confidence she didn't have. "Then I take the Quirk back."

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_chapter end_

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**For some reason, this episode just really didn't excite me to write. You know when you have so many ideas for a story, but you just have to get through that damn beginning first? I feel like that's always been my problem, and this chapter was really a part of that. I probably could have made it longer (as in, not broken up into three parts whoops), but it would essentially be filler ripped straight from canon which seemed unnecessary and boring. I'm sorry if the writing reflects my lack of passion. Thank you very much for reading thus far!**


	9. The Afterschool Club

**Hello again, readers! I hope that you're all staying safe. I want to sincerely thank you for reading this far, and for everyone who had favourited, followed, and reviewed this story, please know that I have greatly celebrated every one of you, and I'm just so glad that people are liking Koharu.**

**Thank you so much to Otakugirl1996, **** , and **** for your reviews; I hope you've found my replies in your inboxes. To M— thank you for your continued support! I'm so happy that you're still enjoying the story.**

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_Chapter Nine: The Afterschool Club_

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Koharu's second day of highschool was officially over.

The sun was setting outside, casting the classroom in a soft glow. From her place next to the window, Koharu felt the rays pleasantly warming her and doing their best to coax her into a nap. Reaching her hands high above her head, she arched her back in a long stretch. Her eyes squinted against a pointed sunbeam.

"Gaaah," she breathed out as she released her stretch, winding back down to her desk and dropping her skull atop it with a soft _thunk_. Someone tittered beside her— it was Tokoyami. Lazily, Koharu turned her head until her cheek was squished uncomfortably against the wood of the desk, her flat, itchy eyes on her seatmate. "What?"

Tokoyami's voice was surprisingly mirthful through his tame expression as he replied, "I think you may have just done more damage to yourself than I did during our battle."

Wincing at his words, Koharu pulled herself into an upright position. "That's not true. You definitely got some shots in," she awkwardly consoled, and bit her lip before she added, "I hope you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?" Tokoyami asked, either raising an eyebrow or ruffling his feathers. As more of a cat person, Koharu wasn't great at reading bird-people.

"Well," she wearily began her response, knowing that proclaiming 'I kicked your ass' wasn't the most delicate approach to take. "Because of us, you didn't really get a chance to show off your moves."

He shrugged, the movement pulling his crossed arms against his chest. "I wouldn't say that's your fault. If I had been better able to defend myself without Dark Shadow, then we could have overcome your surprise attack. I would say that it was a valuable lesson in my shortcomings." Tokoyami kicked his feet up onto his desk as he leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs with perfect ease.

Koharu immediately appreciated the level of effort he put into looking cool.

"Hey!" Mina yelled as she jumped into the scene, slamming her palms down against Koharu's desk. She smiled with her teeth as she peered between the two teenagers. "Are you guys talking about your match?"

"Uh—" Koharu's eyes were wide. Where had Mina come from? "Yeah, we were. Why?"

Mina's smile was so dazzling that it brought its own sparkles. "I was just thinking how fun it would be if we all hung out and talked about our matches together! We can get to know each other!"

Kaminari's head popped up from behind Mina's shoulder, the boy nodding eagerly. "It'll be great!" He agreed with a large smile. "We couldn't all speak freely earlier, so now's our chance."

"What couldn't you say earlier?" Koharu asked wearily.

"It was a bit intimidating before," Uraraka piped up, trailing over to join the group alongside Iida. "I still can't believe that All Might is one of our teachers! It really made me want to give it my all."

As they stopped, Iida exhaled sharply through his nose. A hand clutched to his chest before both hands began to gesticulate wildly in front of him. "Tokoyami, I must insist that you remove your feet from your desk! We must show our respect!"

Tokoyami's eyes slid briefly towards Iida, but they landed instead on Uraraka. Iida continued to sputter as Tokoyami said, "We could tell. You fought until you were sick."

Uraraka's pink cheeks darkened with a blush. Her hand ghosted over her stomach as if being reminded of the afternoon's activities was making her feel ill once more. "Oh, yeah…" she nervously laughed. "I guess I still have a ways to go!"

"You were great, Uraraka!" Mina exclaimed, flapping both her hands towards the girl dismissively. "You guys won, after all!"

At the reminder of Uraraka's victory, Koharu's eyes slid over to the door. Uraraka's teammate had never returned after being taken away on a stretcher, presumably into Recovery Girl's care. It was hard to tell the extent of the damage done to Midoriya through the screens alone, but she hadn't thought that it had been so bad that he would be gone for the rest of the afternoon. Koharu had been looking forward to congratulating him.

"Koharu?"

She hadn't even realized that she was standing. It had been Uraraka that called to her, but the entire group had their eyes on her. "Ah," Koharu said, her shoulders drooping. "I'm sorry. I guess I feel badly that Midoriya isn't here for this. He missed all of our fights, and I'm sure he would have liked to hear about them."

Uraraka was nodding, her bright expression dimming into something more solemn at the reminder of their friend's condition. "Were you going to go find him?"

"I think so," Koharu replied as she gathered up her backpack. She hadn't realized that it was her plan, but it sounded like a good one, so she might as well use it. "If he's up for it, I think he'd like to be here."

Mina clasped her hands under her chin with a brilliant smile. "Aw, that's so thoughtful of you, Haru!"

"H— Haru?!" Koharu stammered loudly, pointing a finger towards her own chest. "Is that supposed to be me?"

"I think it's cute," chimed Uraraka, hair bouncing as she nodded her head.

"Right? I thought so!" Mina's head was eagerly bobbing along. "It's a cute name for a cute girl! Don't you like it? Besides—!"

She kept talking, but Koharu's brain had already short-circuited from the words 'cute girl'. She mouthed them back silently to herself, the finger still poised at her chest wobbling. A hot blush began creeping up from her neck.

Someone tittered. _Tokoyami_.

Koharu's eyes slid to her seatmate, seething. He met her gaze unflinchingly, and Koharu didn't need to know a thing about birds to know the bastard was smug. "I'm going to go find Midoriya," Koharu abruptly interrupted, social grace be damned. Her blush had already reached her ears.

Shaking her hair in front of her face, Koharu mumbled a quick "be back soon" before she scampered away, nearly tripping over her feet in her haste to exit the classroom and ignoring the salutations of her classmates. When the door closed behind her, Koharu patted her flaming cheeks and willed her embarrassment away. She let her feet lead the way as her head stewed.

"I'm not cute," she huffed to the empty hallway, the only sound in response being the patter of her footsteps against the tiled floors. "I'm ferocious. Deadly, even."

"Koharu?"

Letting out a startled yelp, Koharu looked up from under her hair to find an equally spooked Midoriya. His face was about the same shade of red as her own, which wasn't altogether unusual for Midoriya, and he was still wearing his tattered Hero costume. One of his arms was secured in a sling against his chest, and while bandaged, at least the other hung loose.

Feelings of relief helped to stamp down her feelings of embarrassment, and Koharu pushed enough of her hair out of her face to speak clearly. "Either we have to stop meeting like this, or it's my turn to scare you again next," she joked with a hesitant smile.

When Midoriya laughed, his face flared up again and he rubbed the back of his neck with his free arm. "S-sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you, b-but uhm, I— I heard you talking to yourself…"

Koharu's ears rang as her blush returned full force. Her eyebrow twitched. "Just remember, Midoriya," she started in an even voice. She lifted a finger to wag in his face for emphasis with each word as she declared, "I'm not cute."

Tomato-faced, Midoriya was staring at her with wide eyes.

Koharu did her best not to pout as she wagged her finger closer. "_I'm not cute_. I'm deadly, okay?"

He gulped. His posture was straighter than an arrow as he squeaked out his affirmation, a loud, "O-o— okay, Koharu!"

"Good," she said firmly, dropping the topic as quickly she dropped her hand. She tucked her hair behind her ear, pointedly ignoring her flushing cheeks. "I was looking for you, actually. I wanted to congratulate you on winning against Bakugou and Iida."

If Midoriya was put off by how quickly Koharu changed the subject, he didn't show it. His lips twitched up into a pleased smile, twinged with enough of his usual humble attitude to avoid being smug. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it with Uraraka's help..."

"That's the point of teams, isn't it?" asked Koharu rhetorically, waving Midoriya's response away. "But really, I thought you were super cool all by yourself!" Her eyes, still feeling puffy from the use of her Quirk, shone brighter as she remembered watching the boys' battle. "The way you were dodging Bakugou's attacks, and oh man," she was gushing now, lost in her memories. "When you flipped Bakugou, and then he flipped you _back_? That was awesome!"

Midoriya was gaping when she looked back at him, his lips parted and trembling to find words. "...you… really think so?"

"Yeah! Of course I do. We all think so."

Emerald eyes fluttered as Midoriya blinked in shock. "A— all? What do you mean?"

"Oh!" Koharu slapped a palm against her forehead. "Here I was coming to get you, and then I keep you all to myself." She smiled, and gestured for them to keep walking back in the direction she had just come from. Midoriya looked to be on auto-pilot as he followed her, his eyes dazed and feet shuffling across the floor.

Koharu's eyes caught again on Midoriya's arms. "Recovery Girl wasn't able to fix you?"

"Oh, uh," he looked down, as if just realizing that he was walking around like a half-baked mummy. "It's because of how much stamina I have. Recovery Girl told me that I would have to come back again tomorrow."

After nodding in understanding and contemplation, Koharu said, "I see. Do you think you'll have to come early tomorrow for that?"

"I, uh, I hadn't really thought about it…" Midoriya responded with a small shrug of his shoulders. He looked quick to regret it when the movement jostled his bound arm, a grimace briefly blossoming over his features. "I don't want to go longer than I have to like this, even if it is my own fault…"

"I can understand that," Koharu murmured as she eyed the boy's bandages. She had never been so hurt, and she could hardly even imagine the pain. She shook her head to get rid of the thought, and offered Midoriya a smile. "I'll come early with you! I'll even bring you a treat."

"What?!" Midoriya yelped, his voice nervous and high-pitched. "K— Koharu— you don't—"

"Nonsense!" Koharu bellowed, borrowing Hizashi's favorite tactic of simply speaking louder over rejection. Midoriya's cheeks, already a light pink, flared red when Koharu granted him a bright grin. "I owe it to you. You totally fired everybody up with that performance of yours, and I got some great notes out of it."

At this point, Midoriya's voice was so high that it was lost to the dogs. Koharu would just have to assume that he was telling her how thankful he was for her gracious offer.

They had already reached the door to their classroom, but Midoriya hardly seemed to notice. Koharu giggled as she grabbed the door handle. "Anyway, you'll see. Everybody's inside; we've all been waiting for you!"

Both of Midoriya's arms raised, his pinned arm doing little more than shaking and pathetically wiggling its fingers. "Wai— wait, Koharu, e-everybody—?"

Willfully ignorant of Midoriya's nerves, Koharu quickly slid the door open with a serene smile. Unlike their first meeting, today Koharu was anticipating the bombardment and she took a step back to let Midoriya enter first.

Kirishima was the first to notice their arrival. "Oh, Midoriya's here!" Kirishima shouted to the scattered groups across the classroom. A friendly grin in place, he was quick to cross the room to them, joined by Mina, Sato, Sero, and a mysterious blond named Aoyama. The group crowded eagerly around a shocked Midoriya.

"Man, I don't know what you were saying during the match, but you were fired up!" Kirishima eagerly praised, pumping one of his fists into the air.

Sero leaned zealously over the redhead's shoulder. "I can't believe you fought evenly with Bakugou! That guy was first in the entrance exam!"

"You did a good job dodging!" added Mina as she bounced in place next to Midoriya.

"You guys did that in the first match, so the rest of us had to go all out, too!"

"It was far from elegant—"

"You did a good job dodging!"

"H-Huh?" Midoriya took a nervous step back. He was halted by a steady hand at his back, making him whip his head around to Koharu. _I've never seen someone so red_, she thought. With a deighted grin, Koharu pushed Midoriya forwards towards their classmates.

She had a feeling that he would need to get used to the spotlight.


	10. Koharu's Big Morning

**ayyyyy 4/20 blaze it**

**But seriously, welcome back, and I hope you are all staying safe. This chapter was shamelessly written because I wanted to publish on 4/20 to make a good ol' weed joke in my Author's Note. A very kind thank you as always to M for their feedback and support!**

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_Chapter Ten: Koharu's Big Morning_

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"_Mi piace, è beeEEE—-ello, beeello~!"_

The dulcet tones of Hizashi's very best attempt at opera, recorded at Koharu's thirteenth birthday party and cherished since, was silenced by a particularly grumpy Aizawa. "I'm up," she grumbled to the ringing silence of her room.

With the sun already peeking through her blinds, Koharu left the lights off as she stumbled about getting ready. She would go for a jog around the neighbourhood, as she always did, and then make it home for a quick shower and breakfast-prep before she had to leave to meet Midoriya. She stifled a yawn just thinking about it— why had she offered to meet Midoriya early again?

Koharu passed a mirror, and did a double-take at the state of her eyes. _Right_, she thought as she brushed her messy hair from her face to peer at the red veins polluting white. She pulled down her lower eye-lid and made a face to her reflection. _Because I'm a big ol' idiot who forgot how tiresome her dumb Quirk is_. She heaved a sigh as she began to tie her hair up into a bun— it was messy, as her hair always was, but at least it would keep her thick hair out of her face while running. Her eye-drops were on her nightstand, left out after her repetitive use the night before, which she was swift to grab and reapply.

After blinking away the excess moisture and scrubbing at her face with her sleeves to dry her damp lashes, Koharu swept up her athletic gear to change into. Her sneakers, an abused shade of pink and sporting enough scuff marks to beg a cleaning, were shoved onto her feet with little care before she raced out the door.

When she had first started training, Hizashi had been eager to fill her phone with what he referred to as "Soul-Electrifying, Pumped-Up Hits" for her to run to, but Koharu had never listened to more than two songs. Her training had started with Shouta, and Shouta never wore earphones. It was all a part of hero-work, he said, and so Koharu would listen to the world around her: the cars on the street, her feet on the pavement, and the birds welcoming the day with her. The people she would meet on the street were few and far between, heading to work or trudging their feet as they were walked by their dogs.

_Disaster isn't planned. Heroes are always vigilant. Your hearing ability is the difference between life, and being crushed to death by a falling building. Always be ready._

Koharu's feet hit the sidewalk rhymically. _One, two. One, two. Tap, tap. Tap, tap._ A bird chirped in the tree as she ran past it, chirping louder and then softer as she paced by. _Chirp, tap, tap. _

Down the street, a dog barked every few seconds, excited anew by a fresh scent. A single car sped down the road.

_Tap, tap. Bark. One, two. One, two. Chirp, tap, tap. Bark. Someone shouting. A howl._

_Someone shouting?_

Koharu looked up as the new sound registered. Across the road, a young beagle ran after a squirrel at full speed, baying loudly. In hot pursuit was a silver-haired girl in flip-flops, her arms waving over her head as she shouted after either the dog or squirrel, a frayed leash in her grip.

"Pesu!" The girl was shouting, her voice loud and panicked. The dog only seemed to run faster at the sound of her voice, propelled forward at a speed flip-flops could never accomplish. "Pesu, come back!"

_Was this what Shouta meant?_ Koharu's heart, already pounding from exertion, began pumping with adrenaline. She looked both ways before darting across the road to the side of action. _Probably not. But Pesu still needs a hero!_

And like a true hero would, Koharu came onto the scene with a shout of, "Hey, fucker! Get back here!"

The girl was still yelling behind her as Koharu took chase after the small animal. "Pesu! Come! Come here! _Pesu please_!"

The dog veered sharply between two buildings, Koharu skidding behind it. "Pesu!" She called as he led her down the alley, turning right onto another sidewalk. Koharu huffed and pushed herself to go faster— was the dog headed towards the busier streets on purpose? "Shit!"

Breaking onto the sidewalk, Koharu saw another jogger staring at the running Pesu in bewilderment. Incredulous, Koharu shouted, "Grab the dog!" Receiving only a dumb stare in return, Koharu let out a loud groan and rushed past the useless civilian. She heard Pesu's owner flip-flop out of the alleyway, still breathlessly hollering after them.

Still, Pesu ran. Koharu chased him for blocks, breathing evenly as her feet hit the pavement of the road. It was simply more training than she had planned, aimless in direction but purposeful in stride. They lost the owner quickly as they weaved closer in the direction of Koharu's school.

Pesu turned sharply again, and Koharu nearly tripped in her haste to course-correct. However, Pesu had finally stopped, having found a particularly interesting garbage can that had spilled over in the night. Koharu was quick to pounce, and grabbed Pesu by his bright red collar.

"Haha!" She cheered, momentarily forgetting to pull the household pet from the literal garbage in her joy of capture. He chewed happily on a used napkin. "Oh! Stop eating that, puppy!"

Beagles, as it turned out, were goddamn crazy. Pesu was eager to get back to his run, and had no interest in listening to Koharu. It took picking up the small dog and cradling him in her arms for Pesu to finally stop his escape attempts, and her ears would never recover from the sound of his whining.

Koharu let out a small sigh as she began to retrace her steps back to where she had last seen Pesu's owner, the dog relaxed in her arms with his head lolling. He yawned cutely. "Oh, stop that," Koharu scolded the sleepy dog. "I know you're a monster. You can't fool me."

Pesu's owner spotted them first, and smacked her way over with tears glistening on her cheeks. She took Pesu from Koharu's arms quickly and held him closely to her own chest. The girl was nearly wailing as she stuttered out her appreciation for Koharu's efforts. "We— we only got him a few months ago, and he never listens to me… this is the third time he's escaped!"

"If I could make a recommendation," Koharu trailed off as her gaze floated pointedly down to the girl's footwear. Her eyebrow was raised as they met eyes again, and the girl's face flushed with embarrassment. Koharu smiled. "You might need a stronger leash. Pesu's a toughie— small but mighty. That's totally my style."

Koharu hadn't noticed what a peculiarly bright blue her eyes were until the girl's tears began to clear. She had a funny look on her face, Koharu thought, and her stomach dropped as she recognized it. She hadn't seen that look aimed at herself before, but she knew it well enough. All she had done was save a dumb dog, but this girl was looking at Koharu like she was a _hero_.

Koharu felt distinctly uncomfortable.

The girl lowered in an awkward bow as Pesu wriggled in her arms. "My name's Aoi Nakanishi! Please let me repay you for saving Pesu!"

"That's really not necessary!" Koharu responded, her head shaking wildly. The bits of hair that came loose from her bun stuck grossly to her glistening forehead. "Anyone else would have helped in this situation!"

Aoi straightened her back and tried to meet Koharu's eyes again. "That's not true! You saw how many people we passed, and no one else tried to help."

"Well, I guess that's true…" Koharu reluctantly assented as she remembered the dumbstruck looks on people's faces when she had shouted for them to grab Pesu. "Still, I don't need a reward or anything."

"My family owns a cafe," Aoi quickly replied. Using the arm tucked under Pesu's belly, she pointed a finger down the road. "Do you like sweets? I can give you anything you want!" Her lips began to pull into a smile, the first that Koharu had seen. She had dimples, to Koharu's jealousy and delight. "I work there every day! You should come after school!"

Koharu chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. She wasn't sure how Shouta would feel about the whole thing. That said— "I do like sweets…"

Aoi's eyes closed with the force of her smile. "Then you have to come! We're called Amanogawa!" When her eyes opened again, Aoi leaned closer to Koharu. Her eyes were more imploring than Koharu had realized. "I'll see you there, right?"

Could she really say no?

Koharu sighed as she relented. "I would love to visit your cafe, Nakanishi."

Squealing in delight, Aoi held Pesu closer to her chest and smiled brightly at Koharu. "Yes! You won't regret it," she vowed. Aoi trotted in place, too excited to be contained. "Of course, you don't have to come today, but you'll come soon, won't you?"

"Of course."

"Wonderful!" Aoi beamed, and bowed to Koharu once more. Koharu awkwardly returned the gesture, the movement jerky and half-aborted. "I hope to see you soon— " she snapped up, her face flushing again. "I didn't ask your name! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Koharu mumbled, waving the apology away. "It's Koharu Aizawa."

"Koharu Aizawa," she repeated. Koharu stubbornly rejected the reverence in her voice. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you again, Aizawa."

"Yeah," Koharu replied with a small, awkward cough to clear her throat. "You too, Nakanishi…" Koharu's attention dropped down, and she reached out to pat Pesu on the head. "And you too, Pesu." Aoi's answering laugh was delighted, and she shook Pesu in her arms to make his little arms flop in a wave.

The girls left in opposite directions, Aoi _slap-slap-slapping_ away as Koharu took off running to find her way home. She spared a glance down to the fitness band around her wrist, and swore when she realized just how much time she had lost chasing after that devious dog. There would hardly be enough time for a shower, let alone time for breakfast.

_Sorry, Midoriya,_ she thought as she hurried down the sidewalk. She was forced to jog in place at a stop-walk. _I hope you like yogurt tubes, 'cause that's all I've got._ She would still make it if she rushed, but the longer the light went on, the more Koharu's heart raced...

_Bark, bark!_

Down the road, Koharu watched an Akita bound over a fence, a leash flung loosely in their wake and chased shortly by a sleepy-eyed man. "Come back, Chiyo! Chiyo!"

After glancing once more at the time, Koharu sighed. Her feet still tapped listlessly under her. The crosswalk changed to green.

"Chiyo! Come!"

"This is why I prefer cats," Koharu grumbled. She heaved another sigh and covered the time on her wrist. "Sorry, Midoriya…" She turned on her heel.

"Hey, _fucker_!"


	11. Election Day

**I'm so glad that the goofy filler I wrote for the last chapter was well received. Thank you so much to everyone for their favourites, follows, and reviews— _Wannabe Heroes_ has over fifty amazing followers now!**

**Thank you to oLainao for their review, which really made me laugh. To Otakugirl1996, thank you for keeping up with the story. I was so glad to hear from you again! And as always, to M, thank you for your support. My boyfriend agrees that you're invited to our wedding.**

**Edit: Supposedly FF . Net has something against exclamation points, so I apologize for the funny formatting.**

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_Chapter Eleven: Election Day_

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_Midoriya! ! ! ! I'm so sorry! ! ! I won't be able to meet you this morning. I guess I just got lost on the path of life today... I'll tell you all about it later, okay?! See you in homeroom! ! ! !_

"Do you think that you used enough exclamation points?"

Koharu frantically flipped her phone away from her brother's gaze, and shoved him aside as hard as she could. Shouta laughed as he fell slightly off balance, stumbling closer to the curb of the road they walked along. "Fuck off, Shithead," she cursed as she clutched her phone closer to her chest.

"Oi, I'm just trying to help," Shouta retorted with a small grin. "I'm just wondering if you used enough exclamation points. We wouldn't want Midoriya to get the wrong idea and think that you know what a regular volume is."

"FU—!" Suddenly cognizant, Koharu clamped her mouth shut with a dangerous scowl, and Shouta's grin was scoundrel enough to earn him a smack on the arm. "Stop being an asshole!"

"Nah, don't think I will," Shouta posited. He then shoved his hands into his pockets, as if saying he wouldn't need them to defend himself against her.

He was right, Koharu thought, but it was still annoying. Her scowl deepened.

_...but did she really use too many exclamation points?_

Tentatively, Koharu rotated her phone to peek at the screen once more. She had texted Midoriya as soon as she returned home, but she had yet to receive any response from him. He took the train, didn't he? What else was he doing if not staring at his phone? Was he mad at Koharu for blowing him off?

Sneaking a glance at Shouta, Koharu briefly considered asking her older brother for his input. He had been a boy at some point, even if he was a swamp monster now. She couldn't remember much about Shouta as a teenager, but she knew that it wasn't that long ago that he had had friends. Or had it always just been Hizashi?

A hand shot out, smacking her in the forehead and shoving her off balance.

"Hey!" Koharu cried as she nearly toppled over, swinging her arms to catch her balance. "What the hell was that for?"

"Stop fucking staring at me," Shouta grunted out as he returned his hand to its pocket. "You wouldn't know subtlety if it slapped you across the face."

Koharu felt her brow twitching as she made a half-hearted attempt to fix the hair Shouta had messed up. "Was that supposed to be 'subtle', then?!"

"Well, your flirting with Midoriya sure wasn't."

"E— excuse me?!" Koharu squawked indignantly, caught off-guard by the change of topic. She held her phone in her fist and gestured aggressively at Shouta. "Don't be stupid! I wasn't flirting!"

Shouta's face was turned forward, but the way that his eyes slid to their corners to peer at Koharu spoke volumes enough for her cheeks to turn a bright pink. The teenager huffed as she turned her head away, her purple locks whipping fast enough to hide her embarrassment behind her long fringe.

"I wasn't flirting…" she weakly reiterated to the screen of her phone, upturned against her chest. It flashed to life as she clicked the lock button, revealing the time as 8:22, and still no new messages. She huffed again. _Stupid._

Satisfied that he had ended her peace, Shouta returned to his own as the Aizawa siblings paced their way to school. It had always been Shouta's style to arrive precisely on time— wasting his precious minutes waiting around was irrational and being late was rude, and so Shouta was nothing if not _prompt_. Meanwhile, Koharu had always been an early riser and eager beaver, however a beaver with a particularly short attention span and a penchant for wandering until she became late.

Today, that translated into Shouta not trusting her to make it to school on time unless they went together. They had left with little time to spare, but the sands of time always seemed to dance their way around Shouta to ensure that the man was never late. Koharu had long contested this to be Shouta's 'True Quirk', but Shouta only attributed it to 'knowing how to read clocks' and 'not being a dumbass'.

"Oi," said Shouta suddenly, startling Koharu from her staring contest with the blank screen of her cellphone. Her train of thought slammed its brakes, and Koharu looked up to Shouta dumbly as he continued to announce, "I'm going to go ahead. Don't get into trouble."

Koharu raised an eyebrow at her brother. "Can I be trusted with such a serious task?"

Sighing heavily through his nose, Shouta began to pick up his pace without another glance back. "Just don't fuck off and get lost. I'll see you in class."

"Love you too, big brother!" Koharu called out to Shouta's disappearing back. She watched him until he was lost around the corner, and then Koharu slowed her own approach to school to a leisurely stroll. "Weirdo," she mumbled as she returned her attention to her silent phone.

She headed towards the school on auto-pilot, following the cracks of the sidewalk and dipping past oncoming traffic without raising her head. Most people she passed were engaged similarly, either hunkered over their phones or too dead-eyed to look up from the cracks of the sidewalk. Footsteps fell heavy on concrete, and as Koharu drew closer to passersby, she could hear them well: their footsteps, their breathing, the music playing from their headphones. As she passed them, she would hear it— muffled, but loud and terrible, fading in and out with a brush of their shoulders.

After rounding the last corner to U.A., the walkers came less and less— but the noise only grew. Raising her head, Koharu promptly recognized that the gates to her school were being crowded by so many bodies that she could only consider it a _swarm_. Reporters were crawling over one another to hound students as they struggled their way through the mass, hollering so many questions their voices were lost to the cacophony.

In the midst of it all was Shouta, walking unfettered. Startled journalists scrambled to clear his path, the crowd parting around him as he forced his way through with sheer intimidating aura. Cameras flashed around him, and even Koharu's eyes hurt from afar. Eraserhead hadn't gotten this much press in years.

Just down the road, Koharu stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. _Oh_, she thought as her face twitched into an unintentional sneer with her realization. Shouta hadn't wanted the two of them to be seen together while he was wearing his "Hero Hat", which is why he dumped her around the corner. _Those stupid reporters_.

Koharu huffed deep from her chest, and shoved her phone into her jacket pocket. "Leeches," she allowed herself to mutter before fixing her expression back into boredom to continue her trek to school.

Shouta had already made it through the gate by the time she reached the crowd, but their attention was still fixed on the back of the retreating teacher. "Don't you think you're too scruffy?!" One of them called out, prompting Koharu to chuckle even as she internally seethed with hatred. The reporter, a brunette wearing a smart blue suit, continued to call out as she moved to follow after Shouta.

Koharu felt her arm twitch up as she recognized what would be coming. "Hey, stop—"

"Just let me see All Might—!"

Loud sirens rang out, giving only a moment's warning before heavy metal doors slammed down, closing the gate to the untagged intruder. Her hair was blown back by the force of it, and the stunned reporter dropped to her knees in shock.

Another reporter was behind her, having tried and failed to stop the brunette. "It's the U.A. Barrier," he informed her. His voice carried over the shocked silence of the crowd. "Or, that's what we call it. If someone tries to get in without a pass, the security system kicks in."

"What the hell is that?" Asked the brunette as she pulled herself. She planted herself firmly with her hands on her hips. "They think that they're so high and mighty— they could at least give a brief comment!"

"How's this for a comment—" Koharu said from the midst of the crowd. Multiple people startled as they realized that a U.A. student was standing amongst them. Her bored mask was slipping, giving way to hints of a scowl. "Couldn't you inconsiderate idiots at least wait until after school to menace us? Now I'm going to be late."

The crowd was so silent that one would have thought another barrier had dropped. Koharu's eyebrow twitched. The crowd descended at once.

"What's it like having All Might as a teacher?"

"How are All Might's classes?"

"How is the Symbol of Peace as a teacher?"

Koharu sighed, dropped her chin to her chest, and considered not for the first time that day just how much of an idiot she was.

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

"Good work on yesterday's combat training."

Fifteen minutes later saw Koharu sitting calmly at her desk, her uniform only slightly more rumpled than usual and most of her hair out of place. Shouta stood at the front of the classroom. He shuffled papers at his desk as he addressed the class, but Koharu's attention wasn't on him.

The class had already taken their seats by the time Koharu arrived, and she was quick to slot into her place next to Tokoyami, in front of Yaoyorozu, and behind the one and only Midoriya— who had the gall to avoid eye-contact with her when she had said good morning!

Sure, he had been his usual blushing, stamming self, and had returned her greeting, but Koharu wanted _eye-contact._ People who were friends and _not_ mad at each other for ditching morning plans typically engaged in such leisurely activities as locking gazes. Koharu knew this to be true because she had seen it on the Discovery Channel, and had seen Hizashi and Shouta make eye-contact many times before.

No. Midoriya was definitely mad at her, and it was _all that Koharu could think about_.

That is, until half the class exploded up from their seats, hands held high and voices higher.

"I want to be class rep!" Kirishima shouted, both his arms shot into the air above him as he jumped up from his desk. "Pick me!"

"Me too!" Denki cried as he too jumped up. He used one hand to lean on his desk as he stretched the other as high into the air as it could go.

From the front of the room, Aoyama seemed to sparkle. "This job was made for me—"

"I want to do it!" Mina loudly cried as she jumped atop her desk, sending her pencils flying. Aoyoma screeched as one skittered over his shoulder.

"Silence, please!" Iida called as he stood up from his own desk, his posture rigidly straight. His arm was raised perfectly above his head, his hand high and fingers pointed to the ceiling. "This is a job with the serious responsibility of leading others! It is a calling that requires the trust of those around you," he loudly proclaimed. Having effectively caught the attention of his classmates, Iida continued on to suggest, "We should hold an election to decide on our Class President."

Winded by Iida's speech, Kirishima plopped back down to his desk. "Why would you choose that?" The redhead asked as he leaned against his chair, a casual arm slung over the back of it.

"We haven't known each other for that long," Tsu pointed out to the group with a finger held against her chin, a touch that Koharu was beginning to recognize as characteristic of the frog-like girl. "How can we have trust or anything like that?"

Kirishima's head bobbed in agreement. "If that's the case, and everyone votes for themselves…"

Iida, unruffled by their objections, maintained his upright posture as his gaze swept the classroom. "Don't you think that is precisely why whoever receives multiple votes here can truly be considered the most suitable person?"

"That seems pretty reasonable to me," Koharu added as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What better alternative do we have, anyway? We're not about to draw names out of a hat— no one would respect the victor. I vote for democracy."

"I vote for democracy too!" called a cheery voice from behind Iida. In the back row Uraraka had remained seated, either disinterested in the position or recognizing she was simply too short to be seen behind her eager classmates. Catching Koharu's eye, the two girls exchanged thumbs-up.

"What do you think, Mr. Aizawa?" Iida asked, drawing attention back to the front of the classroom. Shouta had already tucked himself into a sleeping bag, and was half-way to the floor. He dragged his tired eyes over the class.

"I don't care as long as you decide before homeroom is over."

Granted permission, Iida was quick to direct the class to write in their votes on blank sheets of paper, and Mina eagerly volunteered to collect all the completed slips in her hat for tallying. Everyone returned to their seats, and papers began to rustle as the class cast their votes.

Koharu pen hovered over her paper, posed in indecision. She had never been one to take on more school work than necessary, and being Class President sure sounded like electing herself for a headache. There was no question that she would be casting her vote for someone other than herself— but who?

Iida was the rational choice. Everything she knew about him screamed 'nerd' in that wonderfully dependable way: he would take the job seriously, and nothing would ever be missed. She had no doubts that Iida would make a fantastic Class President, and he clearly wanted it.

But Midoriya wanted it too. Koharu had seen his hand, shaking as he raised it, and had she not been sitting behind him, she would have missed the tremble of his fingers as they peeked just over his shoulder.

Koharu knew that Midoriya was not the rational choice. He was timid, often startled, and couldn't even respond to simple text messages on time. Their classmates may have flocked to him every time he entered a room, but the attention would make him clam up like he had never had friends before. Truthfully, Koharu wasn't sure that she could envision him in a leadership role. But... would voting for Midoriya mean that he wouldn't be upset with her anymore? Sure, Midoriya wasn't super confident, but he could really act cool sometimes, and Koharu liked him.

Just the fleeting thought of it made Koharu want to hurl. Had she become so hormone-ridden that she allowed things like _friendship politics_ to impact her decision-making? Iida was the right choice, the rational choice— therefore, he was the only choice.

Her decision made, Koharu looked down at her paper, and was shocked to see her pen had made the decision for her. Scrawled in the upper right corner of the page, neat as her terrible penmanship would allow, were two decisive words:

_Izuku Midoriya_.

Koharu sighed, ripped out the sheet, and cast her vote.


	12. Recall Election

**_I want to say thank you for every favourite and follow that this story has received. To __Otakugirl1996, thank you so much for your return review; I'm thrilled that you like Koharu! To M, thank you again for your continued support. I love writing Shouta and Koharu's interactions, so I'm so happy you enjoy them! _**

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Recall Election_

* * *

"Then, the class representative is Midoriya, and the deputy class representative will be—" Shouta paused, feeling the malicious intent radiating from beside him as he fought to keep from smirking. He faked a cough to mask his laughter. "Sorry. The deputy class representative will be Koharu."

Koharu scowled, her brow pulling down in a wrinkle and her teeth bared at her classmates. Beside her, Midoriya was quaking with wide eyes. Koharu could only just hear his stammering through the roar in her ears.

"S-Seriously?" He was muttering, "Seriously?"

Somehow encouraged by the sight of the two of them, a smiling Tsu declared, "That might not be too bad."

"After all, Midoriya can get pretty fired up!" Kirishima affirmed with a single nod of his red-spiked head. "And Koharu was super cool during our battle, and she knew a lot when we were going over the battle results!" At the front of the room, Koharu's scowl remained deep-rooted, but her cheeks tinged a soft pink from the praise.

With a shake of her head, purple locks hid Koharu's blushing cheeks from view of her classmates. Her glare landed on Shouta, who was still curled into his yellow sleeping bag. "Can I abdicate?"

His response was immediate and firm: "No, thanks. Homeroom is over."

The rest of Koharu's protests were lost to a bright yellow back as Shouta shimmied his way out the door, replaced in a shuffle by the vibrant Present Mic.

"Yo, yo, yo!" He yelled as he swept into the classroom with books under his arm. He slid the door closed behind him with a quick shove. "Who's ready to learn some English?!"

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

Several hours later saw Koharu and Kirishima travelling unhurriedly through the school's vast hallways to the cafeteria. Kirishima walked with his hands tucked into his pockets and his shoulders relaxed, chin held high. At his side, Koharu dragged her feet as she trudged along, her back hunched uncomfortably in a show of self-pity.

After class, Koharu had been planning on skipping lunch altogether in favour of hunting down Shouta to complain about her new role of deputy. Instead, Kirishima had spotted her and was quick to start a debate on just how manly it was to skip meals (not manly at all, in Kirishima's opinion). As it turns out, Koharu's rebuttals meant nothing in the face of his shining determination.

"I owe you for our bet, anyway!" He had said, tugging Koharu's wrist as she struggled to stay planted at her desk, her fingers clawing at the edges like a cat avoiding a bath. "I'll buy you lunch! How can you say no to a deal like that?"

"Like this: _no!_"

In the end, the much larger Kirishima successfully hauled from her desk and out the door. At that point, it simply wasn't worth the effort to resist. And so Koharu trudged, unhappy but compliant, as Kirishima chattered without a care.

He had been talking non-stop since they left the classroom. At first, he had been complaining about how boring their morning classes were— something Koharu would usually be eager to get in on, if she wasn't so busy with being petulant— but he had been quick to move onto how excited he was about their Hero training, about their classmates, about Bakugou's quirk, and was Koharu even listening anymore? And wasn't Midoriya's stuttering hilarious, and did she remember Bakugou yelling when he won, and—

"- I know you're a bit grumpy about it, but honestly, I thought you'd do a good job of being Class Rep—" Kirishima stopped talking as Koharu's arm crossed his chest, halting him in place. Koharu's head was downturned, purple strands hiding her face from view when he shifted to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Kirishima…" she pronounced his name slowly, sweetly, as she looked up and let her hair slide from her face. Her lips were pulled tight into a smile that didn't match the darkness of her eyes. "Did you vote for me?"

Kirishima shook as her gaze pierced through him, sending a shiver up his spine. His mind flashed back to days before, suddenly realizing the uncanny family resemblance between his friend and their teacher as he took in her haunted grin. Rapidly he began to shake his head, and he held up two placating hands. "No! I voted for myself!"

The two locked eyes, black meeting red. Satisfied with what she saw, Koharu dropped her arm from Kirishima's chest. She started walking again without further fuss. "Smart. Not that it got you very far."

Alarmed, Kirishima lagged behind for a moment longer. Another shiver crept up his spine as he watched Koharu continue on like nothing had happened. Under his breath, he muttered a revelation of, "Girls are scary…"

"Huh?"

"I said you're good at listening!" Kirishima chirped, easily stepping back into stride with the short girl. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"_Ha. Ha._"

Catching a glimpse of Kirishima's deadpan expression, Koharu snorted a laugh. "Ask away."

"Why are you so upset about being Deputy Class Rep?"

Koharu side-eyed her companion, unsurprised by the question but irked by it nonetheless. "I'm not interested in being some dumb rep. I didn't even raise my hand, so where do these people get off voting for me?"

"I think you're taking this too seriously," Kirishima said with an easy tone of his voice that made his words sound more like an observation than critique. "It's not like you're really the class rep anyway. You're just the deputy."

Koharu felt her brow ticking in irritation. She grunted as she turned her face away from her friend's line of sight. "It's stupid either way." Koharu insisted through clenched teeth.

For a blessed moment, Kirishima was silent. "No way," he then said in a gasp. "You're just mad that Midoriya beat you!"

"What?!" Koharu yelped as she whirled her thunderous gaze back to Kirishima in a snap. Black eyes met red again, the dark thunderous and the light as understanding as they were warm. "I'm not—" Why was he looking at her like that? "I'm…"

He saw right through her.

It wasn't a lie to say that Koharu didn't want the position of Class Rep. Any leadership positions she took on ultimately meant that she did all of the hard work, and unlike her masochist brother, Koharu didn't want the responsibility or the headache of wrangling teenagers. As nice as being Class Rep would look on her resume, it just wasn't worth the hassle to Koharu. So no, Koharu wasn't interested in the job at all.

That is, until she saw her name up on that board. Right below someone else's. _In second place_.

Koharu Aizawa was a lot of things, and quite near the top of that list was a sore loser. She had tossed more Monopoly boards than she could count, and any 'best of threes' would go into the thousands before Koharu would ever admit defeat. It was an ugly side of her— and the name reason why Shouta wouldn't play card games with her anymore. If she was always going to get so riled up, it was better not to compete, he said.

Reluctant or not, Koharu agreed with him. But life was a competition, and _fuck_ if Koharu didn't want to win it all.

Koharu's hands were clenched into fists, glued to her side from the effort it took to avoid waving them around like a child throwing a tantrum. Her energy came out in her voice instead, cracking as she shouted, "Who would want to be a stupid deputy?! Of course I'm pissed off about it!"

Kirishima nodded, unbothered at the straggling eyes of student passersby attracted to them by Koharu's yelling. "Hey, I get it. No one likes to play second fiddle," he conceded with a small shrug of his shoulders. "But it's not like anyone else got any votes. It was just you and Midoriya. That should count for something, right?"

Her stomach twisted, his words a knife of a reminder in her gut of the fact that Koharu had voted for Midoriya. Koharu had _oh so wisely_ put his name down instead of her own, and that was the deciding factor in her loss.

If she had voted for Iida, she and Midoriya would have tied.

If she had voted for herself, Koharu would have _won_.

Gritting her teeth, Koharu let the bones act as a barrier to the litany of curses her tongue ached to unleash. "Second place doesn't count for shit," she told Kirishima shortly. Her feet began to lead them faster towards their destination, and Kirishima caught up to her with an unabashed laugh as they reached the doors to the cafeteria, clearly intent to ignore her raised hackles and continue teasing her.

_BRRRRP, BRRRRP, BRRRRP!_

The two teens halted just before the doors, shoes squeaking to a stop amidst the blaring alarm overhead. Koharu felt Kirishima's hand wrap around her forearm, the skin startlingly soft in comparison to the memory of his hardened skin.

"An alarm?" asked Kirishima, his voice raised to be heard. "What's it for?"

Koharu felt her ears perk as she began to register a sound beneath the monotony of the alarm, a steady drum like thunder. The ground trembled beneath them. Her eyes, widened with fright, snapped to the closed door in front of them as she registered the sound originating behind it.

"Kirishim—_ah_!" Her warning broke off into a startled yelp as Kirishima hauled her towards him, using his grip on her arm to drag her away from the doors. Her back hit the wall a moment before the doors burst open, struggling to let loose a cramped crowd scampering for escape. Kirishima's grip stayed steady on her wrist, acting as an anchor against the wall in case she had any ideas of swimming in the sea of students.

"What's happening?!" He shouted over the continuing blare of the alarm.

Koharu winced as someone stepped on her toe, and tried to flatten herself further against the wall. To Kirishima, she hollered back an incredulous, "How am I supposed to know that?!"

"Well, what should we do?!"

A sudden shout broke through the madness:

"_Everyone, everything's fine!" _

The crowd halted in their stampede, briefly hushed by the sudden declaration. The voice continued:

"It is just the media! There is nothing to panic about. Everything's fine! Let us act in a way befitting the best of the best."

_Iida._ If the voice wasn't enough, the way he spoke was a dead giveaway. She could only imagine how he had managed to capture everyone's attention.

Koharu dropped her head back against the wall, letting out a relieved sigh despite the thump of her skull against concrete. She heard Kirishima do the same as the students in front of them began to disperse with their own remarks of relief.

"Maybe I should have voted for Iida," said a thoughtful Kirishima.

The knife in Koharu's gut twisted again. "Yeah," she groaned. "Me too."

* * *

~ o ~

* * *

"To… to decide the other class officers…"

Side-eyeing the boy beside her with unease, Koharu discretely took him in. Midoriya's cheeks were flushed pink, a bead of sweat trailing down his brow— and Koharu had been pretty sure that Midoriya was taller than her, but with how he stood so hunched over himself like that…

"But first, can I say something? I think… that Tenya Iida should be the class rep after all!"

Koharu blinked away her shock.

"He was able to get everyone's attention in such a cool way," Midoriya praised, his trepidation fading with each word. His lips pulled into a smile, small and nervous, but enough to brighten his clearing face. "I think it would be best for Iida to do it."

Tearing her gaze from Midoriya, Koharu looked out to the class and locked eyes with the startled Iida. His face was filled with awe, glasses slipping down his nose untouched. She bit her lip as she mulled over her choice: Midoriya had made a good point, and it wasn't like Koharu couldn't remember why she wanted to vote for Iida in the first place. It was still a loss, but maybe Koharu could stand losing to Iida. And with Midoriya's and her own vote bringing his tally to two… well, technically, it would be a _tie_.

Koharu felt her lips twitch into a grin. She could live with a tie.

"I second the motion."

"This isn't a courtroom," snarked Shouta, catching the attention of the class from his place swaddled in his sleeping bag. "I don't care what you do. Just hurry up and do it."

Slowly, Iida stood. He pushed his glasses up his nose and straightened his spine, returning to the rigidly postured Iida the class had come to know. "If both the Class Rep and Deputy have nominated me, then it cannot be helped." He took a deep breath, and raised one of his arms high above his head in a mock-salute. "From this day forth, I, Tenya Iida, promise to do my best to carry out the duties of the class representative!"

"We'll be counting on you!"

"Yeah, do your best!"

Koharu leaned forward, and rested her chin into her palm as she leaned over the podium as she watched the class clamour in their congratulations of the new Class Rep. "This might work out for me after all," she said with a small hum.

Midoriya started at her side. "H-huh?"

Lips curled, Koharu lightly shook her head. "I just have a feeling that this job won't be as tedious as I thought."

"...should I be offended?"

With a laugh, Koharu patted Midoriya on the shoulder. She began to shove him back towards his seat.

"Wait— K-Koharu, what did you mean by that? Koharu!"

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**We changin' canon here, yo. Sorry Momo! ****Who do you think voted for Koharu? ;)**


	13. SmallHeart

**Thank you sincerely to every reader who has come this far, and for every favourite/follow. To my wonderful reviewers, please see my responses at the end of this chapter, and know that I appreciate you so much. xo**

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Small/Heart_

* * *

"For today's hero basic training, it's turned into a class with three instructors, including All Might and myself."

Shouta sighed as twenty students stared back at him with varying degrees of dumb looks plastered on their faces, heads full from morning classes and bellies full from lunch. A hand shot up near the middle of the room— Hanta Sero, the first to snap from the post-lunch haze.

"Excuse me!" He said. "What'll we be doing?"

Shouta shoulders heaved with the force of his second sigh. He snatched up a paper from his podium, and revealed to the class a large white card that read 'RESCUE' across the front in large blue letters. "Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between," Shouta explained. "It's rescue training."

The class audibly reacted, already giddy despite the lack of information. Young voices overlapped each other like preschoolers at a pep rally, taking his slightest pause as an excuse to talk amongst themselves. To his dismay, he saw even Koharu perk up and start whispering to Fumikage Tokoyami.

"Hey," Shouta grunted. "I'm not done."

A gasp went through the class, the last noise marking their renewed silence. Eyes shot back to him with rapt attention, including the guilty gaze of his younger sister.

Assured that he had once again had the floor, Shouta continued, "You can decide if you want to wear your costume or not this time." He shuffled to procure a small remote that opened a series of lockers hidden in the classroom wall. They slid open one by one, revealing twenty marked cases containing the students' hero costumes.

Murmurs of excited chatter began to rise once more. Sensing that he would soon lose their attention to the shiny toys, Shouta quickly added a final, "The training will be taking place off-campus, so we're taking a bus. Start getting ready."

At least three chairs hit the floor as the class rushed to retrieve their costumes at once.

_Such children_, Shouta thought.

* * *

~o~

* * *

Shouta knew what people thought of him as a teacher: cold, aloof, and expulsion-happy. However, despite the pre-conceived notions of others, Shouta always took the time to thoroughly assess each and every one of his students. From the moment they were assigned to his class, he would comb through their test scores, their report cards, physical assessments, and proposed costume designs. He would watch surveillance footage from the entrance exams to see them at _war_, and from the waiting rooms to see them at _peace_. Knowing his students, even the ones he would expel immediately, allowed Shouta to make the most informed decisions possible.

Koharu Aizawa had seemed like an obvious exception. As her guardian, Shouta had been personally handed every report card from the time she was six-years-old, and he had overseen her hero training for nearly as long. He couldn't even remember the last time he had gone a day without talking to her. Therefore, why should he waste the time and energy looking into his sister when he already knew everything about her?

Standing in a high school parking lot with tears gathering in his eyes and an overwhelming urge to upend his lunch, Shouta understood why.

_What the hell was she wearing?_

Looking at Koharu was like looking into a clown mirror. The capture device, wound over her wrists and atop her shoulders, was his. The black of her clothes, slim and lined with utility pockets, was his. Even her hair, wild and purple and untamed no matter how many times he hypocritically told her to tie it up when in costume, was _his_.

Shouta's breath wheezed out of him, and he scrambled to chase away his overwhelming nausea. But try as he may, the twisting of his stomach continued, Shouta unable to fool himself out of feeling anything other than _oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck_.

Frankly, he should have expected Koharu's choice and prepared for the day he'd be confronted with it. He had at least a decade's worth of crayon drawings and silly sketches of Pro-Hero Koharu tucked into a shoebox under his bed, all a horrible mimicry of Eraserhead with some bright colour thrown in to make it her own. He had lost count of just how many times he had caught her donning his costume, grubby hands covered by too-long sleeves and goggles bigger than her head hanging around her neck. Back then, he had thought it was cute.

Now, the sight of Koharu walking towards him, dressed so much like _him_ and standing _so proudly_, was by far one of the most terrifying sights he had ever beheld.

_Stay small for just a little while longer_, he wanted to shout. _This is so much worse than I could have imagined. I can't protect you like this. I'm going to lose you too. _

Feeling his gaze, Koharu looked in his direction. When she smiled, he still saw that toothy grin from his graduation when she proclaimed she'd be his boss one day. It had been hard to imagine then, with her settled against his hip and a plastic tiara atop her head, but it was much harder now. He had raised that little brat, unwillingly or not. He had seen her grow from a scared girl to a powerful woman, and he knew what she was capable of. He knew there was no stopping her, no matter how desperately he wanted to in that moment.

Still grinning at him— _that gummy smile, that toothy grin, the guilty one after she's stolen a cookie and the watery one when he comes home safe_— Koharu reached up to fiddle with the pink goggles atop her head. She snapped them pointedly at him as she pulled a goofy face, her small nose scrunched and her eyes twisted. She smiled at him again before she joined her new friends, turning her back to make a comment to an enthralled Ochako Uraraka.

Shouta was seconds away from either throwing up or crying, neither of which was remotely acceptable. An unbearable fondness tugged at his eyes, love and fear mixed with memories, and s_ometimes she was just so much like—_

"Let's hurry this up," Shouta snapped to the class at large, his voice level and betraying no hint of his inner turmoil as he stamped those feelings down _hard_ to be processed _fucking never, thanks._

He filed onto the bus without another look back, marching to the sound of Tenya Iida as he took over instructing his classmates onto the bus. His students joined him swiftly, their excitement granting them speed as they passed him by with delighted cheers at the interior of the vehicle. Shouta pointedly closed his eyes before Koharu boarded the bus, and remained standing as the last of the class boarded. They filled the seats behind him, no less boisterous as he would expect from them as Iida conducted a headcount.

With twenty students aboard, the doors slid shut and the bus lurched forward. The trip would be short, and Shouta would be glad to concentrate on standing through the sway of the bus rather than further contemplating his gross parental feelings. His students prattled on at his back, the excitement in the air palpable the closer they drew to their destination.

Koharu's voice stuck out from the rest, just like it always did for Shouta. One of his only comforts before sleep was the sound of his little sister walking, talking, breathing, _alive_, puttering through their apartment as Shouta pretended to rest. He had spent too many years listening through the walls of their apartment, assuring himself that she was safe and happy, to simply turn off his attention now. Shouta tried not to listen as she bantered with Eijirou Kirishima, and pointedly heard nothing of the praise they dolled out to Izuku Midoriya, the same boy he had been forced to scold over and over already. Soon enough, her voice blended into the cacophony of her classmates until he could hear her no longer.

It wasn't the relief that Shouta expected, losing her voice to the crowd. He felt his stomach churn again as he gripped tightly to the nearest safety bar. _He thought he had gotten over this._ Blessedly, his eyes soon landed on the steadily growing dome of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

With a short look over his shoulder, Shouta's voice pierced through the clamour of his class. "We're here. Stop messing around," he scolded.

The murmurs began again, half the class pressing their faces up against the windows to get a better view of their destination. A cheer rippled through the class as Mina Ashido spotted the building first and began excitedly smacking her palm against the window.

_They're worse than children, _he thought. _They're toddlers._

Thirteen greeted the class as they stepped off the bus, their arms sweeping above their head in an eager greeting. "Everyone, I've been waiting for you!" said the Pro-Hero as they waddled their way towards them in a large space-suit. "Let's go inside without delay."

"Looking forward to working with you!" chimed the class as they followed their newest teacher into the building with their usual jabbering.

Having been designed to formulate a multitude of possible rescue-scenarios, Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or U.S.J., was a spectacularly large building with enormous disaster features. It hosted six separate disaster zones: ruins, landslide, mountain, fire, flood, and downpour. The entirety of the park was encased in large metal walls topped with an vast glass dome that flooded the park with sunlight.

Yes, U.S.J. was quite the sight— but what Shouta didn't see was the third instructor.

As Thirteen wowed the students with their description of the park, Shouta slowly approached the teacher's side. "Thirteen, where's All Might?" He asked during a break in the introduction, halting Thirteen's dramatics. "He was supposed to meet us here."

"About that," said Thirteen as they stepped closer into Shouta's space to speak low. "It looks like he did too much hero work on his way to work and ran out of time, so he's resting in the lounge," they explained with three fingers held up, referencing All Might's current time-restraints.

Shouta fought back a roll of his eyes, wanting to remain professional in front of his coworker. However, he couldn't resist a small jab of, "That's the height of irrationality."

_Well, we took precautions just in case_… Shouta thought with a glance behind him to his students. He couldn't help but wonder how often All Might would end up saddling more work onto the other teachers' backs. He rolled his shoulders with a put-upon sigh.

"Well, it can't be helped," he said. "Shall we begin?"

"Ehh…" started Thirteen, stammering as the spotlight was suddenly thrust back onto them. Shouta moved off to the side as Thirteen continued, "Let's see… uh, before we begin, let me say one thing— er, or two, maybe three… or four… five, six—"

Shouta's attention slid to Koharu as Thirteen postured heroically for the class, taking in the brightness of Koharu's eyes as she listened to the Pro-Hero. How much longer would she look like that, now that she was joining the world of Heroes? How much longer would it be before she stopped looking at them with such admiration— before she stopped looking at him like that?

"You're so cool, Thirteen!" Koharu suddenly shouted, her words lost to the crowd of her classmates' similar shouts as Thirteen finished their speech.

"That was wonderful!"

"Bravo! Bravo!"

Shouta heaved a sigh, reminded that he needed to stop being weird about his pseudo-daughter and get back to work. "Alright, first thing's first—"

A crackle of electricity coursed above. The lights burst in quick succession above them, dimming the room to natural light. In the centre of the room, the water fountain's stream began to stutter.

And hovering in the middle of the room, an inky black portal appeared.

The air was sucker-punched from Shouta's lungs, his thoughts rapid fire. _Why here? Why now?_ But most importantly—

_Fuck._

_Fuck, oh fuck, oh fucking fuck!_

"Gather together and don't move!" He commanded over his shoulder to the class, his eyes fixed forwards to the spreading portal. He couldn't look back at his class. Not knowing who was behind him. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

Bodies began to pour from the portal, lumbering out in staggering numbers.

One of the voices of his students sounded; Eijirou Kirishima stood near the front of the pack, squinting downwards to the growing catastrophe. "What's going on? Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started?" He began to step forward, angling for a better look.

"Don't move!" Shouta barked, halting the teen in his place. "Those are villains."

The class fell into a shocked silence as they struggled to react. Meanwhile, Shouta's hands were already on his goggles. He pulled them up from his neck and over his eyes, the band snapping comfortably into place. Matter over mind, his body had made the decision to fight. After all, there was no one else to save them— All Might was out of commission, and they had to assume that the villains had a means of disabling the sensors that would call for aid.

"Thirteen, start evacuating the students," instructed Shouta as he stepped towards the edge of the staircase leading to the approaching villains. "Try calling the school. They anticipated the sensors, so it's possible someone with a radio-wave type Quirk is interfering." Shouta paused, remembering the Quirk of one of his students. "Kaminari," he called. "You try contacting the school as well."

The boy gave a serious nod, his hand already over the amplifier that covered his ear. "Yes, sir!"

"What about you, sir?" Midoriya burst. "Are you planning to fight them all by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their Quirks…" he trailed off for a moment, before forcefully continuing, "Eraserhead's fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's Quirk. A frontal battle is…"

"Eraserhead can do it."

His chest swelled, and Shouta chanced a glance behind him. It had been Koharu that spoke up from her place next to Kirishima, her eyes shining with unshed tears and hands curled into fists at her side. Shouta's eyes swept across the group, taking stock of the frightened expressions of his students and the way they stood tall with their shoulders squared regardless, brave in the face of danger. They had no idea of what was coming for them— but wasn't that why he was there?

"You can't be a hero with just one trick," Shouta said, far gentler than he meant to. As he activated his Quirk, he saw the breath catch in Koharu's throat. Her hands stuttered to reach for him, and Shouta risked it all to catch her eye once more.

She gave him a watery smile, and Eraserhead leapt into battle.

* * *

_chapter end_

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**This chapter's working title: Shouta has Feelings and is Fucking Tired of it. **

**Actual title: if you google Koharu's name, you'll see that Koharu means "Small/Heart; Spring/Summer". I chose it specifically because the same search for Shouta yields "Soaring, Big". **

**To M: welcome back my love, and thank you! I'm so glad that you've been finding Koharu funny in your reviews. I don't know how funny I am by myself, but humor is one of Koharu's core pillars so I'm really glad that that's coming through. **

**Otakugirl1996 & oLainao: I'm glad to see you keeping up with this story, and thank you for your reviews! I promise that all voters will be revealed in due time… :)**


	14. Heaven Don't Hear Me

**Hey do you ever cry because your readers are the fucking best or is it just me? The response to Shouta's chapter was just overwhelming. Thank you so much to everyone who has favourited, followed, or left a review! I promise I re-read your comments about a million times to hype me up for writing and I appreciate every one of you. Please see my responses at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: Heaven Don't Hear Me_

* * *

Koharu's ears were ringing.

Her eyes were locked onto the retreating back of her brother— brave, foolish, _awesome_, as he descended into a warzone. His capture device floated around his head in loose weaves, a sure sign that he was ready for battle. Koharu felt her own float as well, growing looser around her wrists as her Quirk begged itself to the surface.

Shouta ran headlong towards the villains, capture device in hands and golden goggles firmly in place. The first of his foes were snagged by his pseudo-scarf with ease, and swiftly tugged towards each other until they met as a tangle of limbs in the middle. The next was dealt with with a swift punch to the face, before he too was entangled and tossed into Shouta's next target.

The villains fell. Sometimes one by one, and some in groups, all felled by Shouta's expertise. Koharu's eyes tracked them all and then some, as hard as it was to tear her eyes away from Shouta's form. No more of them came crawling from that terrible blackness, but so many of them were just… standing there, _watching_.

Like her. _Studying_.

Would they notice the pattern in Eraserhead's Quirk? Koharu's eyes found Shouta again as he tossed a villain ass-first into the trio behind them, his hair lagging to his shoulders. Surely there was someone smart among their ranks, looking for the same weak spots that Koharu desperately prayed stayed hidden.

"Koharu."

It wasn't like these people were common thugs. They had managed to break into Japan's prized school for aspiring heroes in circumventing state-of-the-art sensors. And with that weird guy capable of teleporting people to and from locations, there was no telling if there might be a phase two to their invasion.

A hand wrapped firmly around her forearm. Shocked, Koharu followed it to meet Iida's stern eyes, glinting behind his glasses. His grip was unwavering against her wrist. Softly, he repeated: "Koharu."

"Iida." Her voice was steady, stronger than she felt in that moment. She avoided looking at Midoriya as he hovered anxiously beside them.

"I understand how you're feeling," _Did he?_ "But we can't help him. We need to go."

"Right," Koharu said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes fell to Eraserhead once more as he hauled a body into the crowd, a pair of villains falling like pins.

_Wait for me_, Koharu thought. _Just stay alive a little longer. I can't protect you like this._

Iida's grip on her wrist turned insistent, and the trio broke into a jog to rejoin their class. Koharu lagged behind her friends, unable to shake the feeling that she was leaving her heart behind. Her body screamed that she was making the wrong decision.

They had only barely made it to their classmates before the ground spat out another villain, Koharu's boots skidding from her hasty stop. Before them was the same dark mist that had spawned the rest, looking vaguely more humanoid than they had seemed from afar.

"I won't let you," spoke the smoke in a deep, masculine voice. Koharu focused on the sharp yellow of his eyes, towering abnormally above them, as he continued, "It's nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may have been presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of the heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace… take his last breath."

Koharu swallowed thickly. Sweat rolled down the back of her neck, itching her to turn around. Her suspicions had been confirmed— there was no way Eraserhead could take on an entire _League of Goddamn Villains_ on his own, no matter her faith in him. Restless, she felt her eyes drifting away from the villain in front of them. Without the ability to punch smoke, there wasn't anything she could do to help their chances against this particular baddie.

Like she had summoned them, Kirishima and Bakugou surged towards the villain. Kirishima's skin was jagged as he reared back an arm for his punch, eyes alight with a fire only outmatched by the sheer size and brightness of Bakugou's explosion. Koharu slid her goggles into place as heavy black smoke rolled over the balcony.

Kirishima's voice rose through the darkness. "Did you consider that you'd get beaten by us before you did it?"

"Oh dear…" intoned the mist. "That's dangerous." The smoke began to clear, revealing the Warp Villain. Slivers of mist had been blasted away to reveal peculiar metal armor hidden within. "That's right— even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs."

Thirteen raised a hand towards the damaged villain, undoubtedly prepared to use their Quirk: Black Hole. To the two boys, they shouted, "Move away, you two!"

The body of the mist began to stretch and grow. "My job is to scatter you all," began the villain as the darkness enveloped the class. "— and torture you to death!"

"Sorry, what?" Koharu's words were lost to a strong burst of wind that came down upon the class, pressing in at them from every side. She watched as Iida sprung into action, grabbing Uraraka and Sato under each arm before dashing from sight. Just in front of her, Mezo Shoji huddled over Mina and Sato with his large webbed arms.

Behind her goggles, she saw the future. Broken limbs scattered, bodies askew, and blood on her hands. There was no way she could endanger her classmates by trying to manipulate a Quirk she knew nothing about. Her eyes were as useless as her fists, and now they were going to be _tortured to death_.

The next thing Koharu knew, she was falling. She was weightless for a moment before she crashed through broken floorboards, hitting the level below in a crash of debris. Her goggles were covered in dust, blinding her. Her head spun from the sudden crash-landing. She blindly shoved a plank of wood off her leg with a pained groan.

Koharu coughed as she breathed in the dust she had unsettled. "Fuck!" Both of Koharu's shaking hands raised to her goggles, blindly lifting them off from her face as she hacked up her lungs.

"_DIE!" _

Koharu looked up in alarm to see a large blade swinging down towards her— however, before she could register her fear, the man was side-swept by a thunderous explosion. It was followed swiftly by a snarling blond, the sword-wielding villain downed with one blast from Koharu's classmate.

Bakugou stood over her with his palms still crackling. His hands ignited small sparks that danced, rolling like a coin between his fingers. He turned his head towards her suddenly, glaring down towards her. His eyes were fire.

Koharu stopped breathing.

"Are you just gonna keep sitting there like a fucking idiot?!" Bakugou's lips were still twitching with the same snarl he wore for the villain, currently curled in a smoking heap on the floor.

Koharu's heart thundered into action, and her response was innate. "Fuck you," she said. She quickly wiped her goggles on her shirt and replaced them before standing, firmly ignoring the aching of her lower back. She willed her heart to beat normally to no avail.

"Yo!"

Bakugou and Koharu reacted in unison, swivelling to the new voice with their hackles raised. They found Kirishima, his Hardened arms already raised placatedly. He offered them a sharp smile.

"Man, was I glad when I heard you guys. I thought I was alone for a sec."

Koharu exhaled sharply through her nose. "Being with us isn't much better if we don't know where we are." She was already moving towards the paneless window, sidestepping the unconscious body of the villain. "Or, who else is here."

"Only one way to find out," growled Bakugou. He stomped towards the stairs without another look back. Kirishima began to follow him immediately.

Koharu raised an eyebrow, knowing it would be lost to their backs. "I'd really have to disagree with you on that one…" She rushed after them regardless.

Five minutes and several thugs later, the trio landed victorious on the final floor of the building they had been warped to. Koharu stood triumphant over her last opponent, a man who had relied too heavily on an ability to breathe fire that he was suddenly without.

Across from her, Bakugou's palms were still smoking. "Is this it?" He asked incredulously, looking around to the bodies strewn haphazardly across the floor. "They're so weak."

"All right, let's hurry up and go save the others!" Kirishima said, deactivating his Quirk. "If we're here, then everyone else should still be inside USJ, too. I'm worried about the guys with less offensive ability."

Koharu sighed. Caring about their classmates was all well and good, but her priorities lay elsewhere. Her feet shuffled impatiently beneath her. She side-stepped her away around the body below her. "Sorry, pass."

"What?" Kirishima whirled towards her, his face disbelieving. "What do you mean 'pass'? You're the class rep!"

"Deputy Class Rep, thank you very much," quipped the short girl in return, looking coolly up at Kirishima. "You can go if you want. I'm going back to help Shouta."

Kirishima looked torn, understanding of her motives but still unwilling to let her go. Turning to Bakugou for aid, he was met only with an indifferent shrug.

"If you want to go, then go by yourself. I'm gonna kill that warp gate."

Kirishima sputtered, looking ready to throw his hands in the air. "What? You're gonna act childish at a time like this? Besides, that guy's attacks are— "

"Shut up!" Bakugou snapped shortly. "That gate bastard is the enemy's way in and out. I'm gonna cut off their getaway route when the time comes. It's not like we don't have a way to fight him."

Koharu's eyes raised above their heads as the sound of movement met her ears. She only needed to see the barest hint of movement to activate her Quirk, an unimpressed eyebrow raised into her hairline.

A skinny, chameleon-like man suddenly fell from the ceiling with a loud yelp, shards of his skin blistering courtesy of Kirishima's Hardening. Midair, Bakugou caught his head in the palm of his hand and let out a fiery blast that left the villain blackened in his hand.

"Besides," Bakugou continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. He eyed the villain in his grip with clear distaste. "If these chumps are assigned to us, everyone else should be fine, right?"

"Wow!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Were you always so calm and rational? I thought you were more like…" he trailed off, words unneeded.

"I'm always calm and rational, you spiky-haired punk!"

"Yeah, that's more like it!"

Bakugou tossed the unconscious villain aside. He landed face-down, another among the many the three had defeated. "Then go if you want to!"

"Wait! Believing in our friends— that's real manly, Bakugou! I'll follow you!"

Koharu was already halfway out the window. "You idiots can flirt on the way! Let's fucking move!"

She knew they were yelling after her— well, mostly Bakugou, but still— but their words were lost to the blood rushing in her ears. Not one to be outdone, Bakugou soared passed her a moment after. Just like during their fitness exams, he propelled himself forward with his explosions, which made him a particularly difficult ally to follow behind. Still, the sight of his back only made Koharu push herself harder.

The race to Shouta was not one she would lose. She forced herself to run faster, faster, _faster_. She needed to see that Eraserhead was okay, despite the pit in her stomach that warned he was not. Koharu may have had the luck of facing common thugs, but the League of Villain had come with the intent of killing All Might. Certainly, they had someone strong enough in their disposal to make this plan seem worthwhile.

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, lost behind her lenses. _Wait for me_, she thought.

_I'll save you._

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

This chapter was a challenge to write because Koharu and I have very differing opinions on where she should have been during this arc. I actually have another version of this chapter written in which Koharu stays behind to watch Shouta be brutalized, but it just felt too OOC that any of her classmates would let her go, and too OP for her to be able to get away without someone noticing. Maybe I'll post the chapter as an alternate one-shot one day, just for that tasty angst. :)

**jessylane318** — I can't even tell you how much your review meant to me. You put so much thought into it, and to have someone highlight the aspects of the story I work so hard on (Koharu as flawed, teenagers as actual teenagers, show-don't-tell, Shouta as a secret softy, etc...) was so incredibly gratifying. I'm so glad that you've been enjoying the story, and I hope that I continue to meet your expectations!

**Otakugirl1996** — Thank you! I hope that the next few chapters will break your heart thoroughly enough for you :)

**M** — I'm glad that you enjoyed having Shouta's POV! There will definitely be more Shouta chapters coming up and throughout the story because I think it's integral to the story I want to tell.

**oLainao** — Sorry xo :)

**Guest **— I think you are the first person to mention wanting to re-read this story, which made my heart soar. Thank you for taking the time to review!

**Aqua Salmon** — Thank you for leaving reviews as you read through! I was so happy to see 3 notifications when I woke up, and it made me even giddier to realize they all came from one person. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story! Sorry about your feelings.


	15. Hit List

**You know I couldn't keep you guys waiting too long! ;) **

**TW for canon-typical violence. **

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen: Hit List_

* * *

Red. Red, red, red. Pooling. Pouring. Red. Terrible red.

Gold.

Koharu's heart seized in her chest.

Within a human-sized crater, Eraserhead's goggles lie in a pile of blood. There was no Eraserhead. There was no Shouta.

Where was he? _Where was he?_

Three villains remained. Twenty feet from the crater— red, red, _gold, why_— All Might was entangled in the Warp Villain's mist. A large creature with an exposed brain was grappling the Pro-Hero, dug in with heavy claws that stained the fabric of All Might's white dress shirt—

_Red. _

Koharu's feet propelled her forward, uncaring of the treacherous path before her. Her teeth curled over her teeth, wretched. The ringing in her ears left her deaf.

Koharu was going to kill that Warp bastard.

As Koharu and Bakugou approached from the right, Midoriya came barreling down the path towards them. That obnoxious mist rose before him, that _fucking Warp bastard_ clearly keen on sending Midoriya elsewhere.

Koharu's capture device floated to life, snapping towards Midoriya with a flick of her wrist. It wrapped firmly around his chest, pulling him away as Bakugou charged forward.

"Move!" Bakugou shouted as he crossed in front of Midoriya. "You're in the way, Deku!" He slammed his gauntleted hand against the Warp villain, the force of the blow allowing Bakugou to pin him to the ground. "Take that!"

Koharu's stomach fluttered like she had been the one to take him down. The butterflies were swiftly choked by the boiling rage still churning inside. She couldn't dare to look at Midoriya as she quickly asked, "Is Shouta alive?"

"He's hurt, but he's with Mineta and Tsuyu!"

Relief swept through Koharu, nearly knocking her off her feet. Shouta was _alive_. The breath she exhaled was shaky, taking with it the last of her trepidation. She shoved her feelings into a neat little box and swallowed it down.

Eraserhead had gone down fighting. His sister would do the same.

"Okay, Midoriya—"

From the left, a rapid ice swept towards the group. It swiftly encased the villain that held All Might, stopping just before reaching the Pro. It was Todoroki that had cast it, having arrived without a scratch on him.

Koharu looked at Midoriya, taking in his shaking condition. He hadn't heard her. "Midoriya, tell me their Quirks," she demanded. It fell to deaf ears, the teen enraptured by Todoroki's arrival and the battle in front of them. Koharu felt her teeth clench painfully. "Izuku Midoriya," she forcefully said. He whirled to face her like she had dropped a bomb at his feet. "Tell me their Quirks."

"I-I don't know," stammered Midoriya as he looked between the escaping All Might and agitated Koharu. "The villain with the hands disintegrates whatever he touches. I saw him touch Aizawa-sensei earlier—"

_Red. Red, red, red._

She was going to kill him if it was the last goddamn thing she did.

Kirishima jumped into the fray, swinging towards the blue-haired _hand_ villain. As the villain began to dodge, his skin began to blister. Jagged shards began to jut from his arms, displacing one of the severed hands gripping onto the villain's limbs.

Meanwhile, Kirishima's skin was silky smooth for only a moment before Koharu released the Switch. She yanked him backwards with a well-placed capture tape, Kirishima gasping loudly as he was dragged backwards towards her.

"I didn't even get to show off!" Kirishima complained, a pout in his voice despite the circumstances.

Koharu didn't take her eyes off of the blue-haired man. Behind the palm grasping his face, she felt that he was doing the same to her. Slowly, he bent down. He picked up the dropped hand. He returned it to place.

"You look like that guy," he observed, surprisingly soft-spoken. His voice was low and raspy.

A sneer pulled at her lips. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her side. "You look like you weren't hugged enough as a child."

"Ahh…" he tilted his head to the side to scratch at the side of his neck. "That's not very heroic of you to say."

"How unfortunate."

Several of Bakugou's explosions sounded from next to them. Koharu side-eyed Bakugou as he crouched over the Warp villain, smoke curling up from his hands and a crazed look in his eyes.

"His behaviour isn't very hero-like…" muttered Kirishima.

"Kids these days are amazing," declared the blue-haired villain, his hands held together in front of him. "You make the League of Villains look bad." He turned towards the frozen villain still held within the Warp gate. "Nomu."

The villain— Nomu— began to rise. Koharu stared in shock as he stood, careless of his frozen arm and leg as they fell to the ground in pieces.

"He's still moving despite his body being broken?" Midorioya observed, his own eyes wide. His expression became tinged with nausea as Nomu's limbs began to regenerate, punching out the rest of the ice of his body with the force of his muscle growth.

"Everyone, get back!" All Might threw an arm out towards them, halting steps none of them were about to take. He was still clutching his side as he stood. "His Quirk wasn't shock absorption?"

"I didn't say that was _all_ he had," giddily chimed the hand villain. "This is his super-regeneration! Nomu has been modified to take you at one-hundred percent. He's a super-efficient human sandbag."

_Yeah, real fucking super_, thought Koharu.

"First, we need to get our gate back. Go, Nomu."

A sudden force of wind blew Koharu off of her feet. She yelped as she was tossed backwards, landing hard on her back before another body crushed on top of her. Smoke billowed from where the group had been standing.

The smoke cleared to reveal Nomu crouched over the Warp villain, Bakugou nowhere to be seen— because he was currently crushing Koharu with the weight of his ass.

"K-Kacchan!" Hollered a panicked Midoriya, clearly unaware of the boy's presence. Koharu shoved him roughly away from her with a grunt, catching the attention of the other boys. "Kacchan?! You dodged? That's amazing!"

"No, shut up, scum!"

Seeing her on the ground, Kirishima offered Koharu a hand which she gladly accepted. Her back screamed as she straightened it. "Then how..?"

"Then that was…"

Their eyes followed heavy skid-marks along the ground, leading to the firmly planted feet of All Might. He stood with his arms raised in the clearing smoke. The wall had been thoroughly damaged, but All Might stood victorious over the cement.

"All Might!"

Despite his strength, decimating a wall with his back had clearly hurt. He was breathing deeply as he held his sturdy pose. "Do you not know how to hold back?"

The hand villain crept to join his fellows. "It was to rescue my companions. I had no choice. I mean, earlier, that plain looking one…"

Midoriya?

"He was about to punch me with everything he had, you know. Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable. Isn't that right, Hero?" Lanky arms lifted like preachers, disturbingly offset by the severed hands that clung to them. "You know what, All Might? I'm angry. I'm angry at this world that categorizes the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what's good and what's bad. 'Symbol of Peace'? Ha! You're just a device to repress violence. Violence only breeds violence. The world will know this once we kill you!"

All Might let out a mighty scoff. "That's preposterous. The eyes of white-collar criminals like you burn silently. You just want to enjoy this yourself, don't you, you liar?"

When silence was his answer, they all knew that he had been right.

Todoroki stepped forward. "It's three against six."

Midiroya raised his fists and eagerly followed along. "Kacchan already exposed the fog's weakness!"

"These guys are crazy, but if we backup All Might, we can push them back!" Jagged spikes began to protrude from Kirishima's skin.

_Do we all have to say something?_

"No!" Firmly decreed All Might as he stepped away from the rubble and towards their group. He stood in front of them protectively, an arm raised to ward them off. "Run away."

Todoroki let out a considerate hum. His arm was already poised to send another attack towards the villains. "You would've been in trouble if I hadn't done anything earlier, right?"

"That was a different story, Young Todokori. Thank you." All Might quickly replied. His hand slid into a determined fist. "But it's fine! Just watch as a pro gives it everything he's got."

"_Eraserhead can do it!" _

Hadn't she said that?

Watching the solid back of All Might, Koharu didn't know what to believe anymore. Things had seemed easier before, when the villains were abstract and the heroes always won.

Eraserhead's goggles lie in a crater.

There was no Eraserhead to protect her.

At her side, Kirishima readed his Quirk. "It looks like we're doing this after all!"

All Might and Nomu burst towards each other. Koharu was ready this time as the shockwave hit them, but they were all thrown backwards by the force of the wind regardless. She felt a hand steady at her back.

Koharu glanced behind her, surprised to see that it was Todoroki keeping her in place. He had used his ice to anchor himself to the ground. He met her eyes with a quick nod before his attention returned to the main event. The wind continued to blow as All Might and Nomu began exchanging fists. Koharu crouched low to the ground as she fought to stay upright, Todoroki behind her to keep her from blowing away.

"A head-on fistfight?" said Midoriya over the harsh wind.

Beside her, Kirishima lost his battle and fell backwards, being dragged a couple feet away by the winds. "W— Wow!"

They moved faster than Koharu could track. Their arms were a blur of motion, endlessly hitting each other again and again and _again_. They surged forward through debris. They were careless of the obstacles in their path, solely focused on damaging each other.

All Might landed a firm hit on Numo, sending the villain flying backwards into the woods. All Might chased without hesitation. Trees were uprooted without a thought. The ground shattered with their footfalls.

If this was the world of heroes, Koharu had never felt so small.

Her hands were shaking so violently that she had to squeeze them together against her knees. "Go… All Might…" Her words were taken by the wind.

Nomu was thrown into the ground with such force that the ground shook below them, huge chunks of debris rising into the air with his fall. And there was All Might upon him, relentless.

"_PLUS ULTRA!"_

Nomu crashed through U.S.J.'s dome, the building shaking with force as he shot through the rafters. He was lost to the skyline.

Kirishima slowly stood. He was transfixed by the hole Nomu had created on his way out. "Is this a comic book or something?" He asked, awed. "It's like he nullified the shock absorption. His brute strength is crazy."

"What insane power…" Bakugou agreed, joining Kirishima in admiring the wreckage. "Does this mean he rushed at him so fast that he couldn't regenerate?"

Bakugou's words faded to Koharu's ears as her eyes swept the clearing.

Nomu had been eliminated. Now only two targets remained.

She lifted herself from the ground with wobbly legs, eyes locked onto the body of the villain that dared to touch Shouta with his vile hands.

All Might stood in the remaining smoke from his battle, partially obscuring his form from view. Koharu could see blood on his face. "Now, villains…" started All Might. "I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible."

The villains remained in place. The blue-haired man raised his hands to scratch furiously at the skin of his neck. Koharu's eyes tracked the motion, watching as his nails carved into his skin.

"You're not coming?" taunted All Might from his place in the clearing smoke. "You said you'd 'clear' this or something, right? Come and get me if you can."

He didn't move.

"Well? What's wrong?"

The scratching at his neck became more agitated as the villain tossed his head back. He and the Warp villain appeared to exchange words, both watching All Might carefully. Koharu took note as a few broken bodies began to rise— Eraserhead's opponents, ready to join the fight again.

Her hair began to float. The blue-haired villain began to run.

A body surged forward.

_Midoriya._

She followed.

"Get away from All Might!" cried Midoriya, soaring through the air with an arm reared back. His legs flailed limply behind him, and Koharu knew he had broken them.

A portal opened before him. A hand reached through.

"_The villain with the hands disintegrates whatever he touches."_

Koharu saw red as she Switched their Quirks. Pain blossomed through her legs, and the sound of a gun-shot pierced through the air. She wondered if she had been hit.

A bullet struck the reaching hand. Koharu released the Switch as Midoriya fell to the ground, charging forward to place herself over him protectively.

"Sorry, everyone!" A voice called from the entrance to U.S.J.. Koharu didn't dare to take her eyes off the swirling mist before her. "Sorry we're late! I gathered all who were immediately available!"

"I, Tenya Iida, class 1-A representative, have now returned!"

There was stunned silence for only a moment before the sounds of battle began anew, gunshots and blasts ringing through the air. The villains that had come to were all eager to rejoin the fray.

"_YEEAAAAHHHHH!"_

_Hizashi. _Koharu could have fallen over with her relief. Her body shook terribly as she crouched lowly over Midioriya. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.

Before them, the blue-haired villain began to back away, "Aw man, they're here. It's game over now." He turned around, facing the Warp villain. "Shall we go home and try again—"

His words were cut off as multiple bullets shot through his body. The mist swarmed to protect him, wrapping around the blue-haired man and shielding him from view.

The voice of the mist called out, "Tomura Shigaraki!"

Her enemy had been named. The name seared itself close to her heart.

A strong force began to pull at the mist, sucking it backwards towards the staircase. "This is… Thirteen!"

"You may have beaten me this time," growled Shigaraki from inside the mist, half of his body disappearing through the gate. "But I will kill you, Symbol of Peace… All Might!"

The mist disappeared at once. They were gone.

_They were saved._

Koharu bent forward as a sob overtook her, her forehead dropping against Midoriya's shoulders for a moment. Her own shoulders shook with relief.

Midoriya began to push himself up on shaky arms. "I wasn't…" his voice cracked. He must have been in tremendous pain. "I wasn't able to do anything…"

"That's not true," All Might said.

Koharu startled, having forgotten the Pro-Hero was there. However, in the place where All Might had been standing now stood half a man. One of his arms was wilting, and even his hair laid flat. Steam was rising from his joints. Blood pooled at the corner of his mouth and on his side, shirt stained red like All Might's.

_What?_

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**jessylane318**— Welcome back! Are you trying to make me fall in love with you? Because leaving me reviews like yours are how you make me fall in love with you. I'm in total awe that someone would put so much attention, time, and energy for my story. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate your feedback. Thank you so much!

**Aqua Salmon** — Welcome back! "Absolute angst and cuteness mixed into a single person" is a pretty great summary of Koharu, I love it! Thank you for your review!

**Teletraan** — You have given me the best compliment I have ever received. I can't shut up about you calling Wannabe Heroes one of your favourite stories including published books. I finished this chapter in a sitting after receiving your review because I was just so fired up! Thank you so much.

**oLainao** — Welcome back! I'm starting to get the impression that you like Kirishima ;) which is great, because he's officially been added to the Tagged Characters list on the AO3 version of this story. He will definitely be around for the long haul! Thank you for your review!

**Otakugirl1996** — Welcome back! Here, have some more feels! Thank you for your review!


	16. Void

**Hello, hello, and welcome back! This chapter explores some heavier themes but there are no explicit descriptions of anything crazy. Please enjoy the angst by continuing directly onto the next chapter in this double-update :)**

* * *

_Chapter Sixteen: Void_

* * *

Comminuted fractures in both arms. Facial fractures— frontal, mid-face, orbital. They were lucky that there seemed to be no brain damage, but his orbital floor had been fractured into pieces. Shouta's eyes would likely never be the same.

The bandages wound around his arms and head were so thick that on any other day, she might have found it funny. Shouta's heart monitor beat steadily. Unable to hold his hand, Koharu's hands gripped tightly at the sheets next to it.

"I… I'm so sorry I let you fight them alone…"

A tear rolled from her cheek, disappearing into the bandages on Shouta's arm.

"When you looked back at me, all I wanted to do was run after you. But… I was so scared, Shouta." Koharu breath skidded into her lungs. She hiccuped. "But I should have been there with you! Maybe... I— I could have helped you..."

Her head dropped to the side of the bed. Her forehead thudded against the metal bed frame. Koharu winced, but welcomed the cold bruise. She let it anchor her in place as she breathed through her memories.

"Y'know, All Might… he thanked me for saving him. But I don't know if I really did anything. Everyone else, they ran into action and I…" she swallowed thickly. "I just followed along, really. I'm always left looking at people's backs. I felt so useless compared to them. If it hadn't been for Bakugou..."

She had been completely unprepared to defend herself. If Bakugou hadn't seen the villain first, Koharu had no doubt that the sword would have sunk right into her shoulder. She'd been completely helpless— and there he was, a knight with heavy gauntlets.

Her body felt heavy. A throbbing pain ran up and down her spine. She hadn't bothered to tell anyone about her bruises— after her performance at U.S.J., she was ready to accept the reminder of her failure. Warily, Koharu shifted so that she could lay her head onto the soft mattress of Shouta's hospital bed. She watched him carefully, hoping he might spring to life. "All Might has a sort of crazy back to him, too. I can't wait to talk to you about it," she said.

The heart monitor beat steadily. Shouta's chest rose and fell evenly. Koharu breathed in and out to match him. He didn't so much as twitch.

"That's okay," she whispered. "I can wait. I know you don't like me waking you up. "

Her eyes faded the longer she watched him. The weight of the day crashing over her was relentless, but she would remain vigilant.

Fighting back heavy eyelids, she mumbled, "When I thought you were dead, y'know, I… I think that I understood mom a little better."

Maybe she could rest her eyes for just a moment.

* * *

~o~

* * *

How long had she been in the darkness for?

She had started counting, but stopped at fifty-thousand.

Her spine ached. There was hardly room to stand. Most of her time was spent sitting, knees curled to her chest.

No one was coming for her.

Was this her fault?

Was it because she wasn't good enough?

Where was her mother?

_Where was she?_

Where was Shouta?

_...Shouta?_

The doors opened with a crack of light. A silhouette appeared in the gap.

"What are you doing in there, Little Koharu?"

Giggles burst from her chest— a chubby finger was pressed to pursed lips. "I'm hiding!"

"Hiding!" Hizashi pressed a hand against his chest. His school uniform was rumpled, but his yellow hair was impeccable. "Whatever for?"

"I'm gonna scare big brother!"

"Ohoho! How mischievous! Little Koharu, I have to say—"

"SHHHH! 'Zashi, you're too loud! Close the door!"

"OH! Sorry!"

The doors shut. Koharu was consumed by darkness once more. It curled like a mist over her skin.

_One_… _two_… _three_… _four_… _five_...

How long had she been counting?

Foggy light broke through a four-pane window. Koharu chased it down an unforgiving hallway, feet stumbling as the walls grew smaller and smaller around her. She could hear the sounds of children playing echoing towards her, beckoning. The path grew smaller, but Koharu forced on. She was pushed to her knees, crawling closer still.

"_Haru-chan!"_

Koharu reached out for the window as the walls impacted around her.

When the darkness cleared, Koharu and her mother stood in front of a fresh grave. Her mother held her hand tightly within her own. She cried. A heart monitor beat steadily from the clouds like thunder, and the skies opened up with rain.

"_Shouta?" _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Mom isn't gonna come back?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Oh."_

"_Shouta?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Can I hold your hand?"_

Her hands were empty. Her stomach was empty. She had run out of tears after twenty-three thousand. Mom wasn't coming back.

Was it all…

Her fault?

"_Yeah."_


	17. Forgiveness

**In case you're coming from a follower alert, Chapter 16 and 17 were posted together, so go back and read it if you haven't already! :)**

* * *

_Chapter Seventeen: Forgiveness_

* * *

Shouta awoke to darkness, and tried not to panic.

Where was he? How long had he been unconscious? Where was Koharu?

He could feel bandages wound over his face and across the majority of his body. He remembered everything in a throbbing, painful detail. He attempted to sit up, only to be blocked by a firm hand pressing him back against the mattress. Trying to fight back with constricted arms only led to more flailing than actual fighting.

"Hey, hey— it's okay." That was Hizashi's voice, softer than usual, which meant that that was Hizashi's hand pressing him to the mattress. Shouta's struggles only marginally ceased at the revelation. "You're in a hospital. Koharu's completely uninjured. She's asleep five feet to your left in a chair."

_Oh_. The fight drained out of him all at once. The relief nearly left him woozy.

"What happened?" His voice was muffled through the bandages over his mouth.

Hizashi's hand left his chest. Shouta listened to the sound of a chair scraping across the floor as he presumably sat down. "One of your students alerted Midnight that there was a break-in at U.S.J.. All Might arrived first, and the rest of the faculty provided backup. Thirteen was injured and is now in recovery down the hall. Other than that, no one was seriously hurt except that one kid in your class that can't control his Quirk. Recovery Girl took care of him and All Might just fine in the nurse's office."

"Were all the villains captured?"

"Unfortunately not," responded Hizashi with an unhappy grunt. "Two of them escaped, and apparently they were the ones that really mattered. We found that 'Nomu' thing, though. All Might punched him through the ceiling."

"Ah. He's the one who did me in."

Hizashi stifled a laugh. He must have been trying to be conscientious of the sleeping teenager in the room. "Yeah, man. I can see that. You look like a low-budget mummy."

_Better than being dead_ went unsaid, but they both heard it.

"Fuck off," Shouta said without heat. "You're the reason Koharu doesn't respect me, you know?"

"I can't help it if she likes me better!"

A low rustling met his ears, and both men froze. Shouta strained to hear more, but there was only silence. He let it stretch only until he was sure his voice wouldn't wobble when he spoke; there were too many questions on his mind to let them all go unanswered. "Does Koharu ever remind you of... him?"

Hizashi exhaled a long breath. There was only one person he could mean, and they both knew who it was. The silence stretched again. "Sometimes," Hizashi admitted into the darkness of the room. His voice sounded different, like he wasn't facing Shouta anymore.

"Though mostly, she reminds me of you."

"She could have gotten killed today because she's trying to be like me," he said, and resolutely ignored the moisture gathering under his lashes.

"Yeah," Hizashi agreed. "She could have. But she didn't."

"What if All Might had been a minute later? What would have happened then? What if he had been too late?"

Was it getting hotter in the room? The bandages around him felt like they were made of burning metal.

"He wasn't, Shouta. Don't get so worked up!"

"He could have been. So easily, he could have been!" A building had been dropped onto his chest. His every breath was a struggle, weight crushing down weak lungs that wheezed and _wheezed_. "He— he could have been too late, and she'd have been dead because of what an incompetant idiot he was— and I— and—"

When had he stopped talking about All Might?

"I— I can't do this, Hizashi, I can't let her die—"

The bed dipped next to him, a literal weight was dropped onto his chest. The smell of ash and dust and strawberry shampoo hit his nose.

_Koharu, Koharu_, oh thank _fuck she's alive_ and she's here and she's breathing and _thank god he wasn't too late_—

The little weight let out a groan and snuggled firmly into his side. Every inch of pain was worth it as Shouta felt Koharu's breath puff against his collar. "Bast'rds too loud," she grumbled.

Shouta's laugh was just on the edge of hysterical, and certainly _too loud_. She jolted upright.

"Shouta!"

Her voice was as grating as ever. He cherished it completely.

"Don't move around so much, Koharu," chided Hizashi from their side. Shouta felt the bed shake with Koharu's effort to stop moving despite her doubtlessly boundless energy.

"Why am I up here in the first place?!"

"Because daddy's on the edge of a panic attack, dear," betrayed Hizashi.

Shouta nearly choked on his tongue. "Don't— don't call me daddy, you gross fucker."

"Hizashi, you're not helping!" He could almost see the stern pout on her face. He longed to open his eyes, to see for himself what made her smell like fire. "Shouta should be resting, and I shouldn't be up here. Help me down ri—"

"Stay." He could feel their eyes on him. The plea had burst from him before he had known it, and now he couldn't take it back. "Sorry, I..."

Koharu's weight was back, shaking so heavily that she could only be crying. All he could smell was the smoke on her skin, his mind filling in the blanks of what could have caused it. What pain she must have been in. How scared she must have been. Shouta suddenly felt as helpless as he had a decade ago, when he had first brought Koharu into his home.

His hands were shaking. Nothing had changed since then. They were just as broken as they had been on that first day. Shouta was an absolute shit brother.

"I'm so proud of you, Eraserhead," Koharu said then. "Thank you for coming home safe." She rubbed her snotty face all over his shirt. Hizashi picked up his arm and laid it over Koharu's back, loudly sniffling himself. The warmth blooming in his chest completely overtook the pain in his body.

He trusted that they wouldn't tell anyone when he started to cry along with them.

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

And thus ends Season One! I thought it only fitting to begin and end the season with Shouta crying, 'cause I'm a fun person like that. We are wrapping it up at ~34,000 words. Next up will be the Sports Festival Arc, which I'm soooo freaking excited about! We've only seen hints of Koharu's fighting style so far, which was absolutely on purpose because c'mon, you know Koharu loves the _drama_ of it all... how far do you expect she'll get in the tournament?

**Aqua Salmon**: Welcome back! The motivation to write has been high lately, and that's thanks in part to my lovely reviewers :) thank you for your review!

**jessylane318**: Welcome back! I'm really glad you like my original parts. I was feeling a bit nervous about Koharu's interaction with Shigaraki, but I like how it turned out. I'm really looking forward to answering your questions in Season Two :D thank you so much for your review!

**Otakugirl1996**: Welcome back! Thank you for your review!

**oLainao**: Welcome back! Did you just write fanfiction for my fanfiction?! That's seriously so cool! You are my new favourite person in the world (don't tell my mom). Thank you so much!

**Teletraan**: Welcome back! I hope that you'll post your stories one day! I've discovered that it can be a lot of fun sharing your creations with others. Thanks for your review!

**M**: Welcome back! I'm glad you enjoyed Koharu's decision making :) thank you for your review!


	18. Power Surge

**Hello and welcome back to Season Two! :) We'll be starting this season off with 86 followers, 61 favourite, and 53 reviews which is just **_**fricking crazypants**_ **to me, so I just want to say how much I appreciate every single one of you. I've been reading fanfiction since I was a kid (I cringed realizing my age when I saw just how old this account is) and I've posted a few things here and there, but **_**Wannabe Heroes**_ **is really my first baby. It makes me feel all gooey inside when I see how many people I've tricked into enjoying my gushy writing. **

**Here's a look inside Koharu's brain.**

* * *

_Chapter Eighteen: Power Surge_

* * *

**Eijirou Kirishima! v4**

Quirk: Hardening (O)

**Self-application**: skin hardens, becomes jagged and rock-like [Fig 2, 4]. Capable of withstanding tremendous force without breaking, stamina unknown. Skin seems normal without use of Quirk [Fig. 1].

**Offense**: inhabitable Quirk; causes blistering [Fig. 3]. Severity unknown.

**Defense**: Ill-advised, unless maybe there's a building about to fall on someone? :o

* * *

**Katsuki Bakugou v3**

Quirk: Explosion

**Self-Application**: can create explosions from the palms of his hands. [Fig. 1] Instantaneous. Capable of altering the ferocity of the blast, maximum capability unknown. Extremely strong. [Fig. 2]

**Offense**: Likely detonation of target, but would require impeccable timing. Would also likely piss him off. Seems bitey.

**Defense**: Ill-advised.

* * *

**Shouto Todoroki v3**

Quirk: Freeze ? Sus

**Self-Application**: can create rapid ice from parts of his body— seems to have a preference for using his feet. [Fig. 1] The ice he creates is incredibly durable and fast-acting— lethal. [Fig. 3]

**Offense**: based on the ice covering half of his body, switches may result in the target becoming encased in ice? [Fig. 2]

**Defense**: Ill-advised.

* * *

**Izuku Midoriya v3**

Quirk: Power Surge

**Self-Application**: exerts tremendous force from point of contact. [Fig. 1] Point of contact will be ravaged upon use. [Fig.2]

**Offense**: Morally questionable. Possibly impossible?

* * *

Koharu's pencil tapped over her page to the soft beat of the song playing through her phone. Hizashi was snoring on the futon in the other room, and the sound wafted through her open door as bass. Shouta had ordered Koharu home to sleep in her own bed on account of it being a school night, and Hizashi had bribed her away with the promise of take-out and a hot bath. They ate fried chicken and Hizashi fell asleep halfway through an episode of _Hero Wars_.

But while sleep came easily to Hizashi, Koharu couldn't escape her thoughts. She had retreated to her bedroom to update her information on her classmates' Quirks, but when she got to Midoriya… the way she understood his Quirk couldn't be put into words.

_Koharu saw red as she Switched their Quirks. Pain blossomed through her legs, and the sound of a gun-shot pierced through the air. She wondered if she had been hit._

Her eyes trailed down to her legs, bared by her sleep-shorts. Aside from a few bruises, there was nothing to explain the pain she felt in her legs when she switched Midoriya and Shigaraki's Quirks.

_"Get away from All Might!" Midoriya cried, soaring through the air with an arm reared back. His legs flailed limply behind him, and Koharu knew he had broken them._

"Gah!" Koharu shoved her hands into her hair and tugged at her roots. "Just—"

She had felt the strain behind her eyes that came with the use of her Quirk, and the fatigue that came afterwards was unmistakable. But now that she thought about it, it was… _less_. Somehow easier in a way that she couldn't understand.

What was it about Midoriya's Quirk that affected her own?

And what was his relationship with All Might?

And just _what the fuck was up with All Might?!_

Koharu had said that she didn't care for his explanations, and at the time, that had been absolutely true. All she had cared about was finding Shouta and making sure someone was taking care of him. But now, hours later, Koharu was so curious that she thought she might die.

_Bzzt, bzzt._

Nearly jumping out of her skin at the unexpected addition to the melody of the apartment, Koharu's head whipped towards the cell phone lying face-down on her desk. She flipped it over to reveal the screen lit up with a new text message, obscuring her lock-screen of Nekozawa Jr.'s sleeping face.

_**Mi-Mi-Midoriya**_ _(00:42): _

_Can we meet tomorrow before school?_

_Bzzt, bzzt._ Another text came in quickly, landing atop the other in her notifications.

_**Mi-Mi-Midoriya**_ _(00:42):_

_〣__( ºΔº )__〣 _

_I didn't realize what time it was! I'm sorry!_

Koharu rubbed at her eyes, but the messages were still there. She squinted at the device with suspicion: was Midoriya spying on her, or were her thoughts just so damn loud that he heard them in another neighbourhood?

_**Mi-Mi-Midoriya**_ _(00:43):_

_OMG and now I'm making it worse by texting you so much… you're probably sleeping… I'm so sorry. __(╯__︵╰__,)_

A laugh huffed from Koharu's nose. Apparently, when Midoriya was quite the speedy texter when he actually wanted to be. She suddenly felt worse by his lack of response to her the other day. Her thumb slid across her screen, unlocking it quickly to call Midoriya before he could die from embarrassment. He picked it up on the first ring, no doubt already composing another apology text.

She was met with a high, squeaky voice. "K—Koharu!"

Koharu's lips curled into a smile as she leaned back in her chair. "Sorry, is this Midoriya or his hamster?"

"I-I don't have a hamster…" Midoriya meekly responded. Koharu cringed and rubbed a palm against her eye, a low guilt in her stomach.

"Sorry, I guess that was a bad joke. What's up, Midoriya?"

"I— I'm sorry for messaging you so late! I didn't really realize what time it was until after I had already texted you, and then it was too late, a-and uh, I really hope that I didn't wake you up—"

With an amused grin, Koharu kicked her feet up onto her desk. As Midoriya's voice began to fade into a mumble, Koharu took pity and spoke over him, "I wasn't sleeping, so you can relax. That's kinda why I called— why are you still up right now?"

"Oh! Sorry. Uh. Well…" there was a short silence on the other line. She heard him take a deep, steadying breath. "A-actually, Koharu… I wanted to say thank you."

_Eh?_

"I should have said it earlier, but you were gone so quickly... a-and it doesn't feel right to put it off! So…thank you for risking your life for me, Koharu. I'm really grateful."

_Running. Crouching over Midoriya as he crashed to the ground, legs broken and body prone. Her head on his shoulder, tears running down her face and body shaking._

Oh _fuck_. Koharu was _mortified_. Heat crept up her neck as everything else flooded back to her. She had been so caught up in thinking about Quirks that she had almost forgotten to think about anything else.

"_Izuku Midoriya! Tell me their Quirks!" _

A high-pitched laugh burst past her lips. Koharu raised a hand to try to catch it before she woke Hizashi, her fingertips pressing against her lips. Her shoulders shook with the force of holding back her embarrassed giggling. She had been a bit of a dork, hadn't she? _Crap, she wasn't cool at all…_

"Koharu?"

"S-sorry!"

"Wh… why are you laughing?"

"I'm not," she lied poorly between fading laughter. "I'm sorry, I r-really am! It's just…well, I wasn't tryna be a hero or anything, y'know? And I didn't really do much, anyway..."

"That's not true! All Might said—"

"Midoriya," she quickly interrupted. "I don't pretend to know what the relationship between you and Small Might is—" there was a distinctive choking sound on the other line, but Koharu plowed on. "—but you risked your life for him first, right? He said that you've saved him before. So I know that you get it. We're friends. Of course I'm gonna help you, even if I can't do much."

"That's…" was he sniffling? She was sure it must be a trick of the receiver. "Thank you... that's pretty cool of you."

He didn't know how wrong he was. Koharu laughed lightly and waved the compliment away, knowing Midoriya wouldn't be able to see her fanning hand. "Story of my life, Midoriya. But as a friend, if you really wanna show you appreciate me for 'risking my life' or whatever..."

"I do!"

"I want to talk to you about your Quirk."

On the other end of the line, Midoriya began to stutter nonsense before finally managing words. "...s-sorry? My— my Quirk? What about my Quirk?"

Koharu's eyes drifted towards her notebook, still open to Midoriya's Quirk Analysis. After the physical assessment, she had drawn Midoriya's broken hand from memory. She didn't need _Fig. 2_ to remember the shade of angry purple that had discoloured his skin, bones inside shattered. She thought of his fight against Bakugou. He had sacrificed both arms for a _training exercise_, and so it shouldn't have surprised her to see him break both his legs at U.S.J.. Her muscles ached with the memory of it.

Koharu dropped her head back over her chair with a huff. "I know Recovery Girl fixed your legs, but you really shouldn't treat yourself like you're disposable, Midoriya. You use your Quirk way too irrationally for someone who faces such serious drawbacks, and you think it's okay because you're the only one it hurts. And for you to still be puttering around at nearly one in the morning after Recovery Girl used so much stamina to heal you? Ridiculous. You seriously have to take better fucking care of yourself if you're gonna be a hero, idiot!"

_Oof. Wait, waitwaitwait— _

Koharu winced, and drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes squeezed shut so she wouldn't have to face her embarrassment. "Sorry, that was way too familiar and really rude and not totally what I meant, and I honestly don't think you're an idiot—"

"Thank you!"

"Eh?" Koharu cracked one eye open. "Sorry, what?"

Midoriya's laugh jingled on the other line. "I said thank you! Not for saying I'm not an idiot, but…" he paused, and for once Koharu didn't rush to fill it. "Actually, thanks for calling me an idiot, I guess! I— I'm just really glad we're friends. I'll try my best to not to worry you again!"

Koharu's lips pulled into a smile. "Yeah, yeah. Who's worried, dummy? I know you've got this. Just go to bed, Midoriya."

"I will if you will, Koharu."

"Pfft," Koharu shot a finger-gun that her audience couldn't see. "You got me there. If that's all it takes, then sure. I'll go to sleep too."

"Do you promise?"

"What?" Koharu laughed quietly, surprised by Midoriya's response. "You don't trust me?"

"That's a weird way to say that you promise."

"Of course I'm going to go to sleep, I just told you I would."

"That's still not a promise!"

A laugh bubbled from Koharu's chest. Midoriya argued like a child; it made her feel like a kid too. "Fine, whatever. I promise I'll go to sleep. I'm holding out my pinky and everything."

"Are you really?"

_Well, now she was._ Her hand was up before she even realized it, slim pinky extended. "Duh. Pinky promises are solemn, my man."

"O-okay! Then I am too!" He hadn't had to say it, Koharu thought— Midoriya was such a wholesome guy that she hadn't had a doubt he would put his pinky up if she said she had done the same. "Good night, Koharu."

"Good night, Midoriya."

There was a silence for a beat. She hung up first.

She dropped her phone to her lap as her music resumed playing through its meager speakers. Anticipating keeping her promise to Midoriya, Koharu's thumb slid across her screen to pause the song.

The warmth in her chest faded as the cold silence met her again. Hizashi was still snoring in the other room— he was there because her brother was not. Her brother was not because they had gotten their asses handed to them somewhere they were supposed to be safe, and Koharu had been useless. Her classmates had been amazing.

And for just a little while, talking to Midoriya, she had forgotten about all of that. And maybe in all her worrying, she had forgotten what she had really thought the first time she saw Midoriya's broken hand and winning smile— she had thought he was _cool_. She still did.

_Maybe shoulda told him that instead of just calling him an idiot and shit. Her role models had ruined her. _

She released a breath as she pressed play on her music again, volume at its maximum. She would text Midoriya before she could talk herself out of it.

_**To: Mi-Mi-Midoriya**_ _(00:50)_

_I'm glad we're friends, too. _

_( ´ ∀ `)__ノ～ _

_**Mi-Mi-Midoriya**_ _(00:53)_

_( ˙__︶__˙ )_

_He was warm_, she thought. He would forgive her if she stayed up to draw one last Figure.

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

I borrowed "Small Might" from Bonestealer's comment on AO3 because it made me laugh :)

**Since I wasn't super explicit about it, all of Koharu's [Fig.]s refer to sticky notes that she's doodled on and placed on each person's page. If you're interested, here's what I imagine them to be:**

Kirishima:

1: Kirishima's arm, without Quirk.  
2/4: Kirishima's arm, with Quirk.  
3: arm with jagged skin/blistering.

Bakugou:

1: Bakugou's hand, upturned, blastin'  
2: side-profile of Bakugou's arm, bent 90 degrees and flexing while he's blastin'

Todoroki:

1: Todoroki's boot casting an ice blast  
2: Mineta encased in a block of ice  
3: Nomu's arm and leg stubs after he broke his body to free himself, encased in ice

Midoriya:

1: Midoriya's back and arm as he throws the baseball during the fitness test  
2: Midoriya's hand immediately after

What do you think Koharu's last Figure is? :)

**oLainao **— Welcome back! I'm really glad you liked that line, because I laughed writing it. I have so much fun writing Hizashi and Shouta. AND OMG MORE FANFIC? I'm swooning. I love that you zeroed in on that scene, and "Koko dumbass"? Love it. Expect it to make an appearance in the story someday.

**Otakugirl1996** — Welcome back! You reviewed twice! Is that because you saw that my reviews weren't appearing on the site? You're a total sweetheart either way. I'm really glad you liked the ending!

**Aqua Salmon** — Welcome back! Your review made me really happy, it's a true mark of an author when you make people cry. I really love your all-caps style of reviewing.

**M** — Welcome back! Thanks for making it through an entire season with me, M! I'm happy you enjoyed getting a look into Shouta's head because I love writing his POV. I know he's probably OOC from canon, but it's really fun either way.


	19. Do Your Best!

**Sorry that this chapter is a bit later than usual— life be crazy sometimes.**

* * *

_Chapter Nineteen: Do Your Best!_

* * *

_I'm so tired. I'm so fucking tired. So, so tired. I'm so tired._

Even after promising Midoriya that she would rest, she hadn't slept a wink. Sure, she had laid in bed in the dark and counted down how much sleep she could get if she just fell asleep now, or now, _or now_…

Useless.

It only gave her more time with her thoughts than she cared to have. She had nowhere to turn away from her thoughts of Shouta, of his defeat and the feeling of her heart dropping from her body at the sight of his bloodied goggles. She thought about how pathetic she had been, needing Bakugou to run in like a real Hero to save her. She thought about the Warp Villain, and how Bakugou's hands had sparked against the metal casing inside him. She thought about Midoriya, and about All Might. She thought about Shigaraki Tomura.

She thought about how a part of her still wanted to kill him, even knowing he hadn't killed Shouta. Then she tried very hard not to think about it.

"Koharu!"

Her shuffling feet came to a stop. She had been so lost in her head again that she had nearly forgotten where she was. She slowly turned to find the source of the voice, already recognizing it as Uraraka even before Koharu spotted the wide-eyed girl running down the hall towards her. "Good morning, Urara—"

The brunette tossed her arms around Koharu, nearly sending the two small girls to the floor with the force of her hug. Koharu held back a wince as Uraraka's hands pressed over her bruises. "I was so worried about you!"

"Oh, you really didn't have to be—"

"Haru!" Another body slammed into her back, Mina's long arms wrapping around the two girls. "You're really okay!"

Koharu felt her face begin to flush, the pit of embarrassment in her stomach growing under the attention of her classmates. "Of course I am. I already told you guys that when you texted me."

Mina scoffed and tightened her grip. "How was I supposed to be sure that it wasn't fake Haru, hmm?!"

"You could have just called me…" Her eyebrow ticked. "And quit it with the 'Haru' shit!"

"Knowing and seeing are different things," Uraraka intervened. "We're glad to _see_ that you're okay, Koharu!"

"Yeah, you were gone so quickly yesterday! You and Midoriya both. Everyone was really worried about you guys." Mina finally pulled away from the hug to fully display her pout. Uraraka remained latched on for a moment longer before letting go as well.

"And what about Aizawa-sensei?" Uraraka asked as the trio continued on towards their classroom. "They told us some stuff, but… is he really going to be okay?"

Koharu nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, he might look scrawny but he's actually pretty tough. He's a Pro for a reason, y'know."

When the trio reached 1-A, Mina reached out to slide open the door. Most of their class had already arrived and taken their seats, and a quick sweep revealed exactly who she was looking for. _Bingo_.

"I'll be right back," Koharu quickly excused herself to the girls' confusion, and darted straight to her target.

"Yo, Bakugou."

Her palm resounded solidly against Bakugou's desk. He lifted his head slowly, unimpressed, his lips already twitching into a snarl. Koharu felt her own lips twitch into a grin as he snarled out, "Fucking what?"

"Next time, I'll be the one saving you. So don't get used to me thanking you or anything."

"What sorta dumb-shit 'thank you' is that, you damn extra?!" Heat crackled under Bakugou's palms as he slammed them down onto his desk. His chair screeched as it slid back into Midoriya's desk. Midoriya squeaked loudly at the contact.

"I don't like to owe people." Her own hand slid off of his desk to reveal a folded bill. Koharu grinned cheekily at the steaming blond. "So let's call this collateral until we're even. It's real money, so you better not burn it."

"I don't want your shitty money!"

Koharu shrugged as Bakugou yelled in her face. She began to walk to her desk, her own voice indifferent as she replied, "That's too bad, 'cause I'm not taking anything from you until we're square."

From the sidelines, Kirishima interjected with a bright, "That's manly as hell!"

"Why is Koharu challenging Bakugou, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked with a tilted head. Koharu glanced behind her to see that they had caught the attention of the entire class. _Gossips_, Koharu thought lightly.

"SHUT UP!" Bakugou rumpled up the money into a ball and tossed it onto Koharu's desk. Midoriya meeped as the wad flew over his shoulder. "TAKE YOUR STUPID MONEY!"

Koharu rolled her eyes as she picked up the ball. "Give it away if you want. I'm not taking it back." She dropped it onto Midoriya's desk.

"P-please don't involve me!"

Bakugou's scowl deepened, and he snatched the money off Midoriya's desk. "Shut it, you shitty nerd! No one's involving you!" He sat forcefully on his chair and turned pointedly forward.

Koharu shot a finger-gun at Bakugou and clicked her tongue before she took her seat behind Midoriya. "Awesome. Glad we're all on the same page."

"Everyone!" Iida suddenly cried from the front of the room, having placed himself behind the podium. "Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats immediately!"

A hush fell over the class as he effectively stole their attention from Koharu and Bakugou.

"We're already in our seats," Kaminari pointed out.

"Yeah, you're the only one who's not."

Iida's face turned red in frustrated shame as he realized the truth of the statement. He rushed to his seat.

"Hey, Koharu!" Mina suddenly called across the room, nearly tipping her chair over. From behind her, Tsuyu grabbed onto her backrest to steady her. "Who's gonna teach homeroom today?"

"Eh?" Koharu replied as she slouched in her seat. "How am I supposed to know that?"

At the front of the room, the door to 1-A slid open. Shouta stood in the doorway, face and arms still heavily bandaged. "Morning," his muffled voice greeted through the bandages.

"Aizawa-sensei, you're back too soon!" hollered the class, minus Koharu who was too stunned to move her mouth.

"You're too much of a Pro!" cried out a shocked Kaminari as Shouta began to slowly trudge into the room.

"So you're alright, Aizawa-sensei?" Iida asked, his hand raised high into the air.

Behind him, Uraraka held a hand to her mouth in shock. "Can you really call that 'alright'?"

"My well-being doesn't matter," Shouta replied, earning him a loud snort from Koharu. "More importantly, the fight is not over yet."

Murmurs broke through the class at his proclamation.

"Don't tell me…"

"The villains again?!"

Koharu thought she saw his eyes rolling through the open slit of Shouta's bandages. "The U.A. Sports Festival is drawing near."

Kirishima pumped a fist into the air, excitedly exclaiming, "That's a super normal school event!"

"Wait a minute," Denki interrupted, pressing his palm flat against a resistant Kirishima's face.

"Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" asked Jirou skeptically.

"What if they attack us again or something..?"

Shouta visibly sighed. "Apparently, they think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is solid by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years. But most importantly, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not something to be cancelled because of a few villains."

Koharu rested her chin into her palm as she eyed her brother. She understood the importance of the event, but his words seemed undercut by the fact that he was still heavily mummified because of those 'few villains'.

"Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole world was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And for Japan, what has taken the place of that glory is the U.A. sports festival."

"Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching," added Yaoyorozu from her seat behind Koharu. She clenched her fist with determination. "For scouting purposes!"

Eager to share his knowledge, Kaminari added, "After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agency as a sidekick!"

Koharu stuck out her tongue at Kaminari's words. "Taking that route, too many people miss their chance to become independent and end up being sidekicks forever, though."

Jirou eyed the boy sitting beside her. "Kaminari, I feel like you'd be one of them. Since you're dumb." Kaminari visibly deflated at the girl's unexpectedly harsh words, drawing a chuckle from Koharu.

"Joining a Pro's agency will grant you more experience and popularity," Shouta explained to the class, having often reiterated the same concept to the stubborn Koharu. "Time is limited. If you expect to go Pro, then the path to your future opens up at this event. You have one chance a year for three years— a total of only three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off in your preparations!"

"Yes, sir!" cried the class. Koharu felt her leg begin to jiggle up and down under her desk. As tired as she was, Shouta's words had filled her with a new energy. Screw classes— she was ready to go out and begin training that moment.

"Homeroom is dismissed."

* * *

_xox_

* * *

The bell chimed overhead, signalling the start of the lunch period.

"Well, that's enough for today then. Class is dismissed," Cementoss said from the front of the room. Likely eager to get to his own lunch break, he quickly closed his books and exited the room.

The class wasted no time with his departure, students popping up and forming into groups to mingle. Koharu was counted among them, her feet taking her quickly to Kirishima's desk. "Hey, hey, Kirishima~!"

Kirishima turned in his chair to greet Koharu with a toothy smile. "Hey, hey, yourself! Did you want to eat lunch together again?"

Koharu shook her head slightly, her smile turning apologetic. "Sorry, I already promised Uraraka that I'd eat with her today. Buuut…" as she spoke, her hands clasped in front of her chest. She grinned at Kirishima enthusiastically. "D'ya wanna train with me after school?"

"Eh?" Kirishima excessively blinked. "You want to train with me?"

"Well, yeah!" She rocked back on her heels. "You're a tough guy. I bet you can keep up with me."

Someone scoffed behind her. Koharu felt her eyebrow twitch as she turned around to face the source. Bakugou's head was turned pointedly towards the window as if he hadn't just been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Koharu rolled her eyes at the sight, and asked, "Got something to say, Bakugou?"

His face pulled into a scowl as he turned to lock eyes with her. "The fuck would I have to say to you?"

She held his gaze for a long moment before breaking the contact with a shrug. "You can join us, if you want. I'm sure Kirishima wouldn't mind, right?"

Kirishima quickly nodded along. "Yeah, come with us!"

They watched as Bakugou's scowl seemed to deepen. "No."

"Suit yourself," Koharu flatly replied, unbothered.

"Koharu!" Uraraka suddenly shouted across the room. The girl in question looked over to see that Uraraka had a fist raised high in the air and a serious look darkening her face. "I'm gonna do my best!"

Koharu let out a gleeful laugh and raised her own fist in the in response. "Yeah, let's do our best!" She looked back to Kirishima, a residual grin on her face. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

He nodded affirmatively and smiled as he gave a half-hearted fist-pump to tease her. "Yeah, go do your best."

"Shut it, Sharkface," she replied with another laugh, shoving his fist back down. She shot a glance to the surly blond at the next desk. "Bye, Bakugou."

He didn't say a word, but Koharu felt the heat of his glare on her back. Her feet skipped beneath her— somehow, she just didn't feel as tired as before.

She left the classroom alongside Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida. Uraraka's arm was woven tightly with her own, the girl pressed to her side as they walked.

"Uraraka," Midoriya suddenly said. "Why did you decide to come to U.A. and become a pro hero?"

"Huh?" Urarakra stammered as her feet stopped moving beneath her. Koharu was forced to stop as well. "Um… because… well, for money."

"For money?!" repeated an incredulous Midoriya. "You want to be a hero for money?"

Uraraka's cheeks tinged red, and she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "To boil it down simply, yes… I'm sorry it's such an unwholesome reason!"

Koharu patted Uraraka's hand gently, still wound in her elbow. "Don't be silly. There are no bad reasons to be a hero— you'll still be out there risking your butt like everyone else, so what does it matter why you want to do it?"

"But you guys have such admirable motivations for wanting to be heroes…" mumbled Uraraka, freeing herself from Koharu to pat at her blushing cheeks with both hands. "It's embarrassing…"

"How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?" Iida asked.

Midoriya was quick to nod along. "Right. It's just unexpected."

"My family owns a construction company, but we haven't got any work at all, so we're flat broke…" Uraraka explained with twisting hands. "This isn't really something to tell other people, though.."

"Construction…" repeated Iida thoughtfully.

"Ah!" Midoriya exclaimed, dropping his fist into his palm. "With your Quirk, getting licensed would bring costs way down, right?"

Iida nodded. "If you could make the raw material float, you wouldn't need any heavy equipment!"

"Right?!" Uraraka cried, bouncing up and down before them. "That's what I told Dad when I was little! But…" she seemed to deflate as she continued, lost in memories as she looked off to the side. "But they told me they would be happier if I followed my dreams." Uraraka's hands fisted into the material of her skirt before she looked up with a renewed determination shining in her eyes. "So I'll definitely become a hero and make money and let my parents take it easy!"

"Bravo!" Iida suddenly cried, his hands clapping high in the air. "Uraraka, bravo! Bravo!"

Koharu quickly joined, clapping her own hands at chest level with a bright smile. Uraraka's cheeks warmed to a pleased pink.

"_AHAHAHA!_"

A loud laugh suddenly echoed down the hallway, halting the teens in their mini-celebration. The group looked up to see All Might quickly coming towards them. The group froze in shock as he stopped and pointed to one of their numbers: "Young Midoriya is here!"

"A-All Might?" Midoriya stammered in response. "What's the matter?"

"Lunch!" He promptly replied before pulling out a cutely wrapped bento. His large frame nearly filled the hall, and Koharu was surprised to see no trace of the emaciated man she had seen the day before. She tried to blink away her shock as the burly man continued, "Wanna eat together? How about it?"

Midoriya looked back to his friends, receiving a quick nod from Iida. Midoriya paused as he met Koharu's gaze, and she briefly wondered what her face must be doing. She forced it to smile and nod, and Midoriya looked away.

"I'd love to!" He responded to the teacher before scurrying to join All Might down the hallway. Koharu watched as they disappeared around a corner, voices fading down the hall.

"Let's get going, then!" Uraraka suddenly said as she wound her arm back through Koharu's, snapping the girl from her thoughts. She forced another smile onto her face.

"Sure, sure. Let's get going."

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**Otakugirl1996**— Welcome back! I'm glad you liked the texting, and her interactions with Deku. Their dynamic is one of my favourite to write.

**M**— Welcome back! I appreciate that you noticed her contact name for Midoriya. Koharu absolutely has ridiculous names for everyone in her phone, most of which would probably offend their owners lmao.

**Teletraan**— Welcome back! I looove your guess of her last Figure being fire and the rationale behind it. I hope you're doing well, as well! xo

**oLainao**— Okay, I laughed SO. FUCKING. LOUD. at your review. The mental image of Midoriya scaling Koharu's apartment and whispering in her window was just too much to handle. I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling unwell, and I hope that you're doing better now! It's important to take care of yourself. xo


	20. Declaration of War

**Life still be cray. ****I'm sorry that I've had to abandon my weekly posting schedule, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to it soon! However, when I realized that this story is now up to 100 followers, I got so excited that I knew I had to get a chapter out. Thank you for reading along!**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty: Declaration of War_

* * *

"Wh… what's going on?!"

Koharu blinked. She shook her head. The image didn't go away.

_What the fuck?_

Uraraka had slid open the door of 1-A to reveal a gaggle of uniformed students blocking the way out. Muttering heads peered into the room appraisingly, taking in the shocked expressions of those that had been on their way home for the day.

"What business do you have with Class 1-A?" Iida asked, one of his hands pointed firmly to the door.

"We can't get out!" Mineta cried. He thrust a fist into the air, his threatening pose undercut by the fact that his fist didn't even make it higher than Iida's stomach. "What'd you come here for, anyway?"

"They're scouting out the enemy, small fry." Bakugou marched forward, unbothered. "We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival." The blond paused as he reached the doorway, halted by the crowd in his way. "There's no point in doing stuff like that. Out of my way, extras."

Behind him, Iida began to frantically chop his arm up and down. "Stop calling people 'extras' just because you don't know them!"

Koharu crossed her arms, leaning her weight onto one leg. "Ah. He called me an extra before, too. We've been lumped in together."

Kirishima patted her shoulder consolingly. "Don't take it too personally."

"I came to see what the famous Class 1-A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant." A voice came through the doorway as a boy pushed his way through the crowd. His tired eyes were the same lavender as his hair, and his expression was carefully blank as he addressed the class. "Are all the students in the hero course like this?"

Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida, and Mineta were shaking their heads wildly behind the scowling Bakugou's back. Twin thoughts raced through his and Koharu's minds: _I don't like him_.

"Seeing something like this makes me feel disillusioned. There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?"

Bakugou grunted lowly in acknowledgement to the boy's words.

"The school has left those of us a chance," he continued. "Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course… and it seems they may also transfer people out."

Koharu felt her eyes roll to the ceiling and back. Who did this bully think he was to come to their door and try to intimidate an entire classroom? How arrogant was he to challenge them all? She felt her eyebrow ticking as her face pulled into a scowl.

"Scouting out the enemy?" The bully scoffed. "I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you."

A heavy _slam_ resounded through the room as Koharu foot made righteous contact with the edge of Kaminari's desk, followed swiftly by the sound of a shocked Kaminari falling backwards from his chair.

_Wow, that was a lot of eyes on her_. Koharu ignored them all, save for the lavender ones whose dark bags reminded her of her own. She felt her lips inching into a snarky grin as his own remained neutral. Loudly, she exclaimed, "You think we don't know that, punk?! If you're such hot shit, then put your money where your mouth is before I fill it with my foot instead!"

"Man, you're really fired up today," Kirishima mumbled behind his palm.

"Hey, hey!" Another voice boomed from the hallway. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B pushed his way through the crowd. His white hair rose in large spikes, similarly shaped to the pale mask around his eyes. He addressed the room with forceful yelling, but his attention quickly centred on Bakugou rather than the familiar figure of Koharu. "I'm from Class B next door! I heard you guys fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourselves! If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight!"

Having heard enough, Bakugou began to push his way through the doorway without a care for the students in his way. Tetsutetsu's yelling continued despite Bakugou's withdrawal.

"You ignoring me, bastard?!"

Kirishima stepped to the side, joining the group near the front of the classroom. "Wait a minute, Bakugou!" He called, the blond pausing at his words. "What're you gonna do about all this? It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

"It doesn't matter." Bakugou's head turned, his red eyes piercing backwards before he turned to address the crowd. "It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

Koharu's face felt hot. Did she have heart-eyes? She jumped towards Kirishima and latched herself against his arm as the two stared after Bakugou's retreating back. Her voice was tinged with a delighted laugh as she shouted, "Goddamnit, that's manly as hell!"

Kirishima nodded as his free arm curled up into a fist, a solitary tear gathering in the corner of his eye. "So simple and manly."

"The top, huh?" spoke Tokoyami, his head bowed thoughtfully. "There is truth in that."

"H-hang on!" Kaminari stuttered as he finally pulled himself up from the floor. "Don't be tricked! He just made more pointless enemies!"

Koharu released Kirishima's arm to cross her own against her chest. "They were already our enemies, either way." Her eyes slid towards the crowd in the doorway, still hosting that lavender-haired boy. "You heard the guy. They're here to take our places."

Black and lavender eyes met. She bared her teeth in an unsettling grin as the thrill of competition thrummed through her. "I'm looking forward to seeing them try."

* * *

"Hey, Kirishima?"

A hand swatted uselessly at her leg in response. Kirishima's heavy pants continued to sound from beside her as Koharu laughed through her own wheezing.

She opened her eyes to take in the picturesque sky above them, painted in hues of pink and gold. It was a beautiful sunset, she thought. It really was a shame that every part of her body was screaming in agony, making it hard to appreciate said beauty. Her eyes rolled to her friend sharply. "I fucking hate training with you."

Kirishima laughed, and this time the pressure against her leg was a condescending pat. "Me too. But we should do it again sometime."

"Oh, for sure," she easily agreed. With a pained grunt, she pushed herself up onto her elbows so that she could see the redhead who was still sprawled on his stomach beside her. "I didn't expect you to be so fast."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The fuck else?" Koharu asked in response, kicking her leg out to jostle Kirishima's arm. "You're built out of beef. I knew that you were probably going to kick my ass around— I just didn't expect it to be so much."

Kirishima laughed as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Dirt was smudged against his face and over his chest from lying prone on the ground. "You still won two out of three. I don't know what you're complaining about."

"I'm not complainin'," she grouched back. One of her hands reached up to idly rub over the growing bruise on her jaw. "But did you have to go for the face?"

Kirishima's pointed teeth poked through his lips as he gave her an apologetic smile that didn't match the mischief of his eyes. "Ahh— sorry about that. I guess I'll go easy on you next time."

"I'll kill you first, bastard," Koharu replied quickly with a scowl. She shoved her hand roughly against Kirishima's face and smudged the dirt there, pressing his head down to the ground as he laughed at her. "You think you can beat me?"

Kirishima easily shoved her off of him despite the mirthful shaking of his shoulders. He gave her a cocky grin. "Best three out of five?"

"Oh, you're so fuckin' on, Sharkfa—"

"Koharu."

"Eh?" Koharu whipped around, surprised to see her brother standing by the edge of the field. His bandaged arms were still crossed against his chest, giving off a permanently displeased posture. Beside her, Kirishima quickly bolted upwards to stand.

"Aizawa-sensei!" He greeted, his hand shooting up into a salute. Koharu chortled beside him, and briefly considered sweeping his legs out from under him. She stood instead.

"What's up, _Aizawa-sensei_?"

"It's late," he said. He inclined his head backwards in a quick nod over his shoulder. "Let's go."

"Ah." Koharu sighed. She turned to Kirishima and knocked his arm out of his salute. He fumbled with his hands for a moment before shoving them into his pockets, looking briefly uncertain of how to act with their teacher watching them. Koharu smiled. "I guess we'll have to rain-check our next fight. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, for sure," Kirishima agreed with a nod. His own lips pulled into a small grin. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"'kay!" Koharu beamed at her training partner before jogging over to her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and waved good-bye to Kirishima. "Don't get into any fights without me!"

Kirishima laughed as he moved to retrieve his own belongings. "I'll try not to."

"Don't get into any fights," Shouta scolded from the sidelines.

Koharu rolled her eyes as Kirishima was suddenly saluting again. "Yes, Aizawa-sensei!"

"You're always so serious," Koharu admonished her brother as she reached his side, the two of them turning to begin the walk home. Shouta grunted in response to her comment, unbothered. "And I don't think you can really be talking shit when you're beat to all hell like that."

"I get paid to get my ass kicked," Shouta reminded her. "You're still in training. No license, no fighting."

Koharu snickered and picked a pebble to begin kicking forward as they walked. "I don't think that's what you're being paid for. I think you're supposed to be doing the ass-kicking."

"I did plenty of that, too."

"Roughly how many asses?"

"More than you," Shouta answered, kicking the pebble forward as well as it rolled in front of his feet.

"Hey, I kicked ass!" Koharu angrily retorted. "I kicked, like, at least three asses! Even more if you count assists!"

"You must be tired, then."

"What?" Koharu looked up at her brother. Everything ached with the lie. "No, I'm fine."

The pebble was kicked out of reach. The siblings watched as it stumbled down the road. Koharu scuffed her shoe against the sidewalk instead.

"Hizashi said you didn't sleep last night." Through the slit of his bandages, Shouta's eyes met hers knowingly. Koharu's chest puffed up with annoyance.

"Hizashi's a fucking tattle-tale," she seethed. "And again, I really don't think that you can be talking shit when you look like that. You should have been resting today, not at school."

"My health isn't—"

"Yeah, yeah, 'your health isn't important', my ass." Koharu huffed and stuck her nose in the air. "You're setting a terrible example for your impressionable baby sister, not to mention the rest of your students, y'know."

"Meh," Shouta replied, and despite the pain Koharu assumed it would cause, he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not here asking for advice from some brat."

Koharu's hands raised in a mimed throttle, mindful of her brother's injuries despite her great desire to strangle him. "Don't be so fucking rude!"

"I can be as rude as I want. I'm still your guardian for another three years."

"What's that supposed to mean, bastard?" Koharu asked with a scowl.

"It means, eat and go to sleep when we get home," he responded. "I'm ordering you to rest. No extra training tomorrow."

"What?" she squawked. "But the Sports Festival—"

"—can wait a day," Shouta sharply interrupted. "You're being too irrational. You shouldn't be getting into fights with Kirishima behind the school, brat."

"Hey! It's not like we were out there scrapping! We were really training!" Koharu indignantly replied with a frustrated pout. "We were just playing a game of knock-down after, and it's not like we were going all out or anything."

Shouta sighed through his bandages. "You should have already been resting. Don't think I haven't noticed that you hurt your back."

Koharu stumbled with her next step. "What?"

"You're not slick, kid," Shouta reprimanded softly. "I could tell from your posture, and now you confirmed it. You should have said something."

"Stop observing me, Shithead. I'm not about to start listening to hypocrites," she retorted, glaring down at the sidewalk. "I'll relax when you do."

Shouta heaved a sigh to the sky. "Why do I have to be responsible for such a petty little shit?"

"K'yah!" Koharu let out a battle-cry as she kicked out at the back of Shouta's leg, a move that was easily side-stepped by her practiced brother. He snickered as he picked up his pace to rush ahead of her. "I'll kill you, Shithead!"

"I'd like to see you try, brat!"

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**oLainao**— welcome back! Thank you for your review!

**M**— welcome back! I'm glad you enjoy Koharu + classmates, because this arc is going to have a lot of student bonding :) thanks for your review!

**Otakugirl1996**— welcome back! Koharu is totally awesome ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ I'm really looking forward to the Sports Festival too! Thanks for your review!

**Emocean**— I'm glad that you gave the story a chance! I love sibling dynamics more than anything, and it's so fun to write Shouta as an annoying older brother. I hope you'll continue to enjoy it! Thanks for your review!


	21. Premonitions

_Chapter Twenty-One: Premonitions_

* * *

The U.A. Sports Festival was only three days away.

Koharu spent most of her free time training. In the mornings, she was up in time for yoga before running with the sunrise, and arrived at school early enough for various competitions with Uraraka ranging from arm-wrestling matches to tree climbing. They'd arrive to class with scratches and smiles on their faces. She would take dutiful notes in class, and sit with her friends at lunch. Her afternoons were spent with Kirishima and Kaminari, leaving her dirty and bruised when she crawled home at sunset.

At the front door, Shouta would scold her for over-exerting herself, but never stop her. Koharu would make them dinner, and help feed Shouta with only minimal mockery. She would do her homework in the main room while Shouta watched the news, and then they both would go to bed. Koharu would stare at her ceiling and pretend to sleep.

The next day, she would get up and do it again.

_Tired_, she thought. _I'm so fucking tired._

Her muscles felt weary and weak, but her feet hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. The sunlight was only just beginning to stream through the tall buildings, reflecting off the shop windows in warm shades of pink and orange. She heard the birds rise. She saw the flowers in window-boxes begin to unfurl as they welcomed the sun.

She took a familiar turn.

A small cafe stood three buildings down, nestled firmly between a fashion boutique and a music shop that Koharu had once visited to buy a harmonica. _Amanogawa_, the quaint cafe run by the Nakanishi family, had a bright red roof and boasted a wall of ivy so heavy it looked ready to topple. The doors and windows were the only things spared, allowing passersby like Koharu to sneak glances to the darkened interior.

Koharu had told Aoi that she would visit, and she wasn't one to break promises. In fact, by her terms, she had visited the cafe at least ten times since the girls first met. The only trouble was that she had yet to visit while the cafe was actually _open_.

She had a feeling that wasn't considered "visiting" by normal standards.

Amanogawa's windows were typically still dark as Koharu ran by. The sign read that the doors wouldn't be opening for nearly another hour, and while she wouldn't be surprised to know there were people in the back, she had yet to see anyone in the front on her morning runs. However, that day was an exception, for not only was the cafe illuminated, but there was a face waiting for her in the window.

Koharu did a double-take. The familiar face of Aoi Nakanishi lurked in the window, the silver-haired girl's forehead pressed up against the glass. She beamed a smile as the two girls locked eyes.

"Aizawa!"

Gravity betrayed her, and she fell flat on her face.

A bell chimed as Aoi rushed through the door to Koharu's aid. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry!"

"I— I'm fine!" Koharu stuttered as she pushed herself back up to her feet, gravel stinging in her palms. She winced as she wiped them against her pants. "Geez, you scared me. What were you doing with your face pressed up against the window like that?"

Aoi looked at her as though she was dealing with a child, a look not unfamiliar to Koharu. "I was waiting for you."

"Eh?" Both of Koharu's eyebrows raised into her hair. "For me? Why?"

"I've seen you go by a few times now, and I was hoping to catch you," Aoi easily admitted. "You normally run around this time, right?"

"...I do," Koharu confirmed warily.

"I'm not a stalker or anything!" Aoi said with a flippant wave of her hand. The motion drew Koharu's eyes to the bright pink and blue polish on the girl's fingernails. "If anything, you're the stalker. You keep running by, but you never come in."

Koharu glanced around them, taking in the quiet street. There was no one else in sight, and not a single storefront was illuminated. Her eyes slid pointedly to the store hours sign before landing on the teen in front of her. "You're not open yet."

Now her hands landed on her hips. "What, is that all?" Aoi quietly clicked her tongue. "We'll make an exception for you. We're open now." Those pink and blue nails wrapped quickly around Koharu's wrist, Aoi snatching the shorter girl with a firm tug.

"What?!" Koharu squeaked as she was dragged inside Amanogawa without ceremony. The bell chimed overhead as they walked through the door. "You really don't have to make any exceptions for me—"

"Nonsense!" Aoi bellowed. "I know as soon as you try one of our sweets, you'll be our very best customer, so it's only right to make exceptions." She released Koharu and walked quickly around the counter, leaving Koharu standing like an abandoned bird in the entry.

Amanogawa was heavily decorated in the same shades of pink and blue that Koharu had seen on Aoi's fingernails. The interior was small, but the colours permeated every surface— on the cushions of the chairs, the flowers on the tables, the coffee cups stacked behind the counter. Aoi grabbed a large blue mug and set to work making something at the espresso machine. She cast a glance over her shoulder and grinned at Koharu.

"Sit down, sit down! I'm making you a latte."

Koharu took tentative steps forwards, and pulled out one of the few stools at the counter. It was surprisingly comfortable beneath her. With a nervous edge, Koharu drummed her fingers against the counter top. "I— uhm, I don't have any money on me... "

"Don't be silly," Aoi responded with a flap of her hand. "Consider it on Pesu! You said that you like sweets, right?"

"I do like sweets," she reluctantly assented.

Aoi's answering smile was infectious. "Great!" She chirped as she set down the blue mug in front of Koharu. "Just pick something, and it's yours."

"Okay, uh…" Koharu bit the inside of her cheek as she leaned back to check what was in the glass display. Beautiful baked goods beamed back at her, all equally enticing. After a long moment, her gaze settled on a pear tart. Even before she could point, Aoi was pulling the piece out with a practised grace. "Oh, thanks."

After placing the tart delicately onto a small pink plate, Aoi presented Koharu with her treat, a fork, and a smile bright enough to blind the sun. Dumbly, she repeated, "...thanks."

"Your hair isn't normally that colour, is it?"

"What?" Koharu's hand shot up to her roots, equally startled by the sudden question and the thought that her roots might be showing. "No, my hair is black. Why are you asking?"

Aoi's eyes glinted something celebratory. "And your eyes?"

"My eyes?" Koharu repeated with a heavy blink. Her hand remained still on the top of her head. "No, they've always been this colour."

"Really?" Aoi's gaze turned piercing, eyes sharp on Koharu's. "They're never red?"

"No," she slowly said. Koharu leaned back in her chair, wishing she could get away from Aoi's intense eyes and sudden line of questioning. "I mean… they're orange sometimes. When I use my Quirk."

Aoi hummed thoughtfully before pointedly handing Koharu her fork. "What is your Quirk? If you don't mind me asking."

Koharu rolled her eyes. "Oh, _now _you're shy about the questions."

"Sorry," she responded, but didn't look it.

"Whatever," Koharu grumbled. "I can temporarily switch people's Quirks." Aoi's eyes widened, and she looked genuinely stumped by Koharu's response. Koharu felt her hackles rising with the look on her face. "Why? What's up with these weird questions?"

Aoi's hand reached out and clasped around something invisible, but Koharu felt something tug in her chest _hard_. The breath was wretched from her as she was suddenly faraway, the world hazy around her.

Koharu was lying on the ground, floorboards cold under her shaking fingers. The building was collapsing. She couldn't catch her breath through the dust and smoke in the air. A loud _crack_ filled the air, and debris began to rain down towards her. Everything within her screamed to run, but Koharu couldn't move.

But then, there she was. Her dark hair was bundled up, but still pouring over her face. Messy strands couldn't hide the glowing red of her eyes.

It was her. It was Koharu, but _not right_. She was older, though not by much. Her pink goggles were nowhere in sight. A thin scar ran up the side of her face, ending just below one of those terrifying red eyes. But most importantly, Koharu seemed to be holding up a _goddamn falling building_.

"Haru?" Aoi's usual sunny voice spilled past her lips, shaking now. "Y-You came!"

Koharu looked down at the girl at her feet with a toothy grin. "Always. It's okay now, Aoi— we're here."

The world continued to crash, Amanogawa crumbling to the ground around them. Only the dust touched them as Koharu strained against the weight at her back.

Was that Aoi's heart pounding in her chest, or her own?

She was back in her seat at the cafe with a gasp, lungs eagerly taking in the clean air. Aoi's hand was still extended between them— Koharu shakily slapped it away. "What _the fuck_ was that?!"

Aoi looked unperturbed by Koharu's aggression. She slid a glass of water closer to the teen. "That was my Quirk."

"Golly, I wouldn't have thought of that— obviously that was your fucking Quirk!" snapped Koharu. "That's not what I meant. What did you just show me?"

"Someday, you're going to save my life," responded Aoi, the words spilling from her lips like a sacred secret. "I knew it the second we met. Have you heard of the red string of fate?"

Koharu rolled her eyes even as she remembered the way Aoi had reached between them and _tugged_, like she was pulling a string taut from Koharu's chest. "Sure," she said.

"That's my Quirk," confessed the silver-haired girl, her tone low and conspiratorial. "I can see the strings that connect people— the moments. It's not particularly helpful most days— not everyone has strings I can see, and most are too frayed to read…" Aoi's gaze dropped to the counter. Her fingers swirled in an unseeing pattern. "Your string… _our_ string… it's the first time I've been connected to someone else. It's never been so vivid before."

Koharu's mouth felt unbearably dry, but she wasn't sure she trusted the water Aoi had offered her. Her thoughts were racing too fast for her to read them. "So that's why you were waiting for me in the window like some demented mannequin. You wanted to show me… whatever that was."

Aoi blushed. "I tried to catch you yesterday, but you were already gone by the time I got outside."

"I don't think that's as good of an explanation as you think it is," Koharu muttered. "So, what? That's supposed to be the future, or whatever?"

"I think so," Aoi responded. "Like I said, it's never been so vivid before. Most of the time, people have already had their moments by the time I meet them. I've never shared a moment with anyone before."

Koharu looked down to the pear tart on her plate. She had completely lost her appetite. Glowing red eyes lingered on her mind. "Why show me? Why not just let it happen?"

"Your Quirk," answered Aoi. Koharu snapped her attention up to her, but found it hard to settle her eyes on the girl. "You must have noticed it too. It was totally different than what you described."

She had noticed. But that didn't mean she understood. Her mind felt like it was in a fog too dense to see through.

_I'm too tired for this._

Koharu pushed away from the counter, stool screeching against the floorboards. "I have to go."

Aoi followed her around the counter as Koharu rushed to leave. "Wait, Aizawa! I'm really sorry if I scared you— maybe I shouldn't have shown you—"

"No," Koharu said, her voice sounding far away. "Thank you for showing me. I'm sorry to leave so soon—"

A hand clasped around her wrist just before she reached the door. "Aizawa, you really don't look okay. I don't think you should leave."

"No, I have to go—"

"Haru—"

Koharu wasn't sure how she was still standing. "Don't call me that."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't. But I really think you should sit down."

She was already on the ground before she realized it. Aoi's face was swimming above her.

"Aizawa! Oh no, oh— should I call someone? Aizawa!"

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

okay y'all I was pretty nervous about this chapter, but here it is! Thanks for reading along xo

**M** — welcome back! Kirishima is absolutely the president of the Bakugou Fanclub. Koharu was voted vice president lmao. Thanks for the review!

**Otakugirl1996** — welcome back! In this house, we love aggressive sibling love. Thanks for the review!

**DominoDuh** — your review has me like *side eye emoji*... time will tell! ;) Thanks for the review!

**oLainao** — welcome back! Poor Sportsfestival-chan... we still love you Sportsfestival-chan... thanks for the review!


	22. Questions and Conversations

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Questions and Conversations_

* * *

Aoi had carried her home.

Koharu blinked awake on the girl's back, her face buried in long silver hair that smelt like oranges. The tall girl shuffled her feet as they travelled down the sidewalk. Her hands had looped securely under Koharu's thighs, and her weight shifted slowly under her. Aoi handled her like something delicate— breakable, if not already broken. She couldn't remember the last time she was handled with such care.

She left Koharu at her door with endless apologies and a promise to get some sleep. It was a vow that Koharu was familiar enough with breaking that she felt no shame in plastering on that fake smile and agreeing that she would take care of herself. Aoi had called her a liar, but let her go regardless.

Red eyes haunted her as she tried to shower the morning away: the sweet smell of the cafe that stuck to her skin, of oranges and pear tarts.

The mirror reflected the Koharu she knew. Her hair, even soaking wet, was a vibrant purple against her pale skin. Black eyes poured into her own, flashing orange at her call. Her fingers traced down her unmarred skin as she wondered how it would eventually come to be split open. She hadn't looked significantly older, so in theory, it would happen soon.

_What was she?_ If that had truly been a vision of her future, Koharu had no way to reconcile the truth of her current existence with the one Aoi had shown her. There was no way Koharu was capable of holding up a fallen beam, let alone a fallen building. And if Aoi's vision was to be believed, eventually Koharu's eyes would turn red.

Like Shouta's, she thought— like Eraserhead.

The red of Eraserhead's eyes meant the complete cancellation of one's Quirk. The orange of Koharu's meant the transfer of Quirks from one person to another. In their years of training together, Shouta had never had cause to use his Erasure Quirk against her; Koharu's Quirk offered her no enhancement, no special attacks or increased durability. She was only human. His fists were plenty to take her down.

And yet, she had managed to stand unharmed in a crumbling building, and made it look effortless.

Needless to say, Koharu had a lot of questions.

The first question, the glaring question, was how she did it. The answer, somewhat obvious and wholly unsettling, was that she had transferred someone else's Quirk into her own body. Which meant that somewhere down the line, her Quirk would evolve and she would learn to transfer Quirks to herself as well as others. Perhaps the red of her eyes wasn't even her own, but a reflection of someone else's Quirk, which brought her to her second set of questions—

Who did she take the Quirk from? As far as she could see, there had been no one there but herself and Aoi. Koharu's Quirk had always been vision-based, so how had she maintained the Quirk without being able to see the other person? And who was the other person— the 'we' she had spoken about'? Was she a part of a team? Did she have a partner?

Who else had been there? Who was that familiar 'we'?

_Who? _

* * *

"Hey, Kirishima."

The red-haired boy looked up from his conversation with Kaminari and Bakugou as Koharu dropped her lunch tray down next to his own. His smile was as immediate as his attention. "Hey! I thought you usually ate with Midoriya today?"

Bakugou scowled fiercely at the mention of Midoriya's name, but all three firmly disregarded it in polite company.

"Plans change, gotta keep 'em on their toes," Koharu vaguely replied as she sat down next to Kaminari, greeting with him a nudge out of the seat adjacent to Kirishima. Koharu blissfully ignored his grumbling as she took his place. "Anyway, I've got a question about your Quirk."

Kirishima snickered as he watched Kaminari shooed from his place. The redhead dropped his chin into his palm with a grin. "Go for it."

"Do you think it could help you to hold up, like… a couple tonnes of falling material?"

Beside Koharu, Kaminari balked at her words. "Are you crazy? Just what are you planning, devil?"

Koharu rolled her eyes, and murmured a quick— "One second." She turned in her seat, her full attention on the blond sitting beside her. "First— _devil_? Really?"

"It's 'cause you look like this!" Kaminari held both of his pointer fingers up at the top of his head, mimicking little horns. "It's the purple hair. You look like the devil emoji!"

"Ah," Koharu said with a nod. "I see. Makes sense. Anyway, it'd be a really shit plan if I just spit it out like that, wouldn't it? Where's the element of surprise? The _pizzazz_? I wouldn't go blabbing my mouth if I was going to drop a building on Kirishima." She turned back to Kirishima with an expectant look. "Well?"

"You're both idiots," Bakugou announced.

"Hey," Kirishima scolded, watching his friends across from him fondly. Koharu and Kaminari puffed up at his defence. "Just because you're right doesn't mean you have to say it." Their shoulders dropped.

"I fucking hate you all," Koharu said, trying to mean every bit. "Can we get back to the point?"

Bakugou snorted. "You're the one with the shitty attention span and weird questions."

"Shut up," she firmly replied. She pointedly placed her palm out so that Bakugou was blocked from her view. "Kirishima?"

Kirishima scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, honestly. I mean, I'm pretty strong, but I've never done anything as intense as having a building dropped on me."

"Ugh," Koharu said. She slouched down into her seat. "Alright. Thanks anyway."

Kaminari jabbed his fork in her direction. "You're being super ominous right now. It's freaking me out."

"Just what are you expecting? It's not like I'm strong enough to do crap like that, either." Koharu responded with a small snort. "Anyway, it isn't manly, y'know. I'd rather kick someone's ass face-to-face than drop a building on them."

"The spirit is there, but the sentiment is…" Kirishima wobbled his hand back and forth.

* * *

"And you're _sure_ your Quirk doesn't make you a She-Hulk?"

"Nope! Just invisible!"

"Fuck! Thanks anyway."

* * *

"Hey, Uraraka."

"Mmm?" Her responding hum sounded over the line.

"You remember your fight with Iida and Bakugou, right?"

Uraraka giggled. "Of course. We kicked their butts!"

"Right," Koharu agreed with a huffed laugh of her own. "When you were fighting Iida, you swung a pillar around like a bat. How's that work?"

"Oh! Well… if I touch something with my fingertips, it's like it becomes weightless! So nothing is really too heavy to use."

"D'you think you could hold up a couple tonnes of falling building?"

"What?" came Uraraka's startled response. "I guess maybe I misspoke… some things are still too heavy for me, and I'll get really nauseous. And unless I'm holding it down, everything would just float away. I might just make things worse in that situation."

"I don't know if that's true," said Koharu with a thoughtful hum. "Even if things would crash down eventually, you could make things float long enough to get people out, and that would be helpful, right?"

She heard the gears turning in Uraraka's head. "Yeah!" She cried with a sudden enthusiasm. "You're right! And if I just keep training, I'll be strong enough for sure!"

"Totally." Koharu nodded, knowing the other girl wouldn't be able to see her over the phone. "I know I'd want you around if a pillar was about to fall on my head."

"Don't be silly," tittered Uraraka. "You wouldn't need my help. Why are you asking, anyway?"

"Ahh, it's nothing. Just something I was thinking about," lied Koharu. "Anyway, what did you get for question four? I don't think I did this right…"

"Oh no! I was hoping you could tell me!"

"Ah, fuck… let's call Yaoyorozu, I bet she'll know."

"Good idea! I'll call her right now!"

* * *

"How many cakes would it take for you to catch a building?"

"W-what?!"

"_How many cakes?!"_

* * *

"Hey, Midoriya. I wanted to ask for your help with—"

"Yes."

Koharu laughed and swatted Midoriya's arm. "I haven't even finished the question yet, you goof. What if I'm asking you something ridiculous?"

The boy's cheeks flushed a bright red, and he avoided Koharu's gaze. "S-sorry, you're right, I just assumed you were asking for a favour."

Smiling, Koharu gripped tightly onto the straps of her backpack so she wouldn't ruffle his hair. Midoriya was just so cute sometimes. "What if I was asking you to go beat someone up, or something like that?"

"I would have thought you would rather beat them up yourself?"

"You got me there," Koharu conceded with a grin. "Anyway, it's not a favour, really. It's more of a question."

Midoriya's head tilted to the side. "You're going to ask me about a falling building, aren't you?"

"What?" she gasped. "How did you know?"

"You haven't exactly been subtle in asking everyone about it," he pointed out with a furrow of his brows. "You were even talking to that guy from Class 1-B yesterday, weren't you? The one who yelled at Kacchan?"

Koharu let out an exaggerated happy sigh. "Ahh, I have my own personal stalker. Now I really know I've made it."

"N— no! I'm not— that wasn't—!" Midoriya's face was beet red as he loudly stammered his rebuttals, arms waving in front of his face. "S-s-stalker?!"

"Sorry!" Koharu said, laughing. She caught one of Midoriya's arms as it flung by her face, and shoved it down to his side. "I was teasing. Relax, dummy."

Midoriya's other hand still covered half of his face. "You're really mean sometimes," he mumbled.

She smiled. "I said I was sorry. Can I finish the question now?" At his nod, she explained, "I know that you're always analyzing people's Quirks and fighting styles, right? You're always mumbling about it." Koharu kicked her toe into the ground. "Do you think I could ever hold up a tonne? Could I stop a falling building?"

Midoriya regarded her silently, his gaze on her thoughtful as he considered her question. "Koharu, why are you asking about that?"

That was answer enough. Midoriya knew that she couldn't do it either.

"Does the 'why' really matter?" she said instead of the truth.

"I think it does. Something really seems to be bothering you lately," Midoriya observed, making Koharu flinch. "Are you worried about the Sports Festival?"

_Yes. No. There was a lot she was worried about, and somehow the Sports Festival had become the least of it. _

She grimaced. "Yeah, I guess so. I really want to do well."

"Do you really think they're going to drop buildings on us?" Midoriya skeptically asked. "I've never seen anything that extreme before. I don't think that you have to worry about that."

"You're right," chirped Koharu. "I'm sure everything will be fine. They'd never do anything so extreme."

* * *

"Hey! You look strong! How strong are you?!"

"E— excuse me?"

"Koharu! Don't go around challenging random people!"

"I wasn't challe— hey! S-stop it! Iida, quit dragging me, I won't—!"

* * *

"Hey, dumbass."

Koharu looked up from her feet and over her shoulder, surprised to find Bakugou walking towards her with a scowl on his face. "Don't be fucking rude," she said as she turned to face him. "What do you want?"

"Ask me your weird questions."

Koharu raised an eyebrow. She took in the high rise of Bakugou's shoulders, hands shoved in his pockets and a deep sneer on his face. He certainly didn't look like someone up for a chat— he seemed more like a cat ready to fight. "What weird questions?"

Somehow, his face grew darker. "Don't play dumber than usual."

"Why?" she asked instead. "Are you bothered that I asked everyone else but you? Because either way, I'm not sure how you expect to tell me that you could stop a falling building—"

"Don't presume to know what I can and can't do," he furiously interrupted. "I'm only getting started! You have no idea what I'm capable of."

His red eyes were glowing with his passionate declaration. Koharu remembered the red of her own.

"Right," she said, suddenly breathless. "Bakugou, could you stop a falling building?"

"You bet your fucking ass that I could."

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**M** — wb! I hope the twist didn't totally throw you off! Aoi's involvement has been planned since the beginning, and I'm really excited to start the story-line. Thanks for your review!

**Otakugirl1996** — wb! I'm so glad for readers like you xo thanks for your review!

**Fahdza** — Thank you so much for your three reviews! I'm so happy that you think Koharu is awesome. Seeing your reviews roll in totally made my day.

**BitchBetterHaveMyHoney** — One of the first things I thought of while imagining this fic was the inevitable scene of one of Aizawa's students coming to his front door to pick up his little sister for a date and having him answer the door lmao. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story and that you like Koharu! She's super fun to write. Thanks for your review!


	23. Enter First Years!

**The Sports Festival is officially here, and I am PUMPED! Thanks for reading along so far, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy xo**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Three: Enter First Years!_

* * *

"Everyone, are you ready?! We'll be entering soon!"

Iida burst into the room with a dramatic slam of the door. The students of 1-A were crowded into a large locker room adjacent to the Sports Stadium, just moments away from finally competing in the U.A. Sports Festival. Tables and chairs were centered in the room, but Koharu was thrumming with such a nervous energy that there was no way she could stay seated.

There was no more time left for worrying. There was no time left to think about training, or about the need to grow stronger after experiencing the villain attack at USJ. There was no time to think about Shouta's defeat or All Might's emaciated form. There was certainly no time to think about Aoi or her strings. Her fear of the future was shoved into a box, taped neatly shut, and pushed firmly to the side to be dealt with _later_.

The Sports Festival was here, and Koharu was ready to kick some ass.

"I can't believe it's finally here," Koharu said as her feet bounced beneath her. "I am so fucking pumped for this!"

Iida jerked forward, his arm outstretched towards his Deputy. "Koharu, it is improper for a class representative to use such expletives—"

"_So fucking pumped_!" Koharu enthusiastically repeated herself as she turned her body pointedly away from the sputtering Iida. "Let's do our best!"

"Let's do our best!" Uraraka chanted back with a pump of her fist into the air. Koharu rewarded her with a quick fist-bump as the girls grinned at each other.

Mina approached the small group, a skip in her step. "Hey, we doing our best over here? What do you guys think the first event will be?"

"I hope it's a battle royale, and we all just wail on each other until the buzzer sounds!" answered Koharu with a few well-mimed punches to the air.

Mina pointedly placed a hand on top of Koharu's head before drawing it straight to her chest, highlighting the height difference between them. Her pink lips pulled into a wide grin as Koharu's cheeks puffed with indignation, and with a giggle she teased, "I don't know about that… it's not very heroic to punch below the belt, and I'm not sure you could reach any higher, Haru."

"Stop calling me that, damn it!"

"I don't believe that such an event would be appropriate for a high school sports festival," commented Iida as he adjusted his glasses, interrupting the two girls before a squabble could break out. The gleam of his glasses suddenly hid his eyes. "Perhaps instead a falling building?"

Koharu's cheeks turned a bright red as Mina 'ooh'd and Uraraka giggled. "Is it 'Gang-Up-On-Koharu Day' and I just didn't get the memo?"

Uraraka reached out to lightly pat Koharu on the shoulder. "We're sorry. You've just been acting so strange lately that it's nice to see you in high spirits again!"

"I haven't been acting weird," whined the deflated Koharu in response. "People prepare for things differently."

An arm suddenly dropped on her head. Koharu looked up to see that Kirishima was resting his elbow atop her purple locks, a smug look on his face. "It's because of her Quirk," he announced, easily continuing even as Koharu shoved him off of her. "You guys don't get it because she hasn't used her Quirk on you before, but Koharu has to know about people's Quirks in order to switch them, right?"

"Right! That makes sense!" replied Mina as she and Uraraka nodded along with wide eyes. "That's why you were asking everyone such weird questions! You were getting to know our Quirks!"

"However, that doesn't tell us why you were so fixated on such a specific scenario," Iida pointed out. "If you were truly aiming to prepare yourself, shouldn't you have been asking a broad range of questions?"

Koharu puffed out her cheeks as she considered how to answer his question without giving away her true intentions. She blew it out with a huff. "I've got good reflexes, but I'm not very strong," she said, eliciting a snort from Kirishima beside her. "If I want strength, I need to get it from other people. If I want someone to start spewing acid or floating into the nether-sphere, I know where to find you guys."

With a pout, Uraraka said, "That seems like a simplification of things…"

"I know you're more than just a flotation device, Uraraka," blandly comforted Koharu as she patted Uraraka's arm. "That's just what I think would happen, is all."

"Midoriya." An unexpected voice cut through the room, effectively silencing all conversations. Todoroki had approached Midoriya, one of his hands shoved casually into his pants pocket despite the serious tone.

The mood in the room had shifted. Todoroki wasn't one for starting conversations, and something about the way he stood before Midoriya screamed conflict. Maybe it was the set of his shoulders, or the subtle clenching of his hand into a fist at his side— either way, the room stood at attention.

Koharu felt her eyes widen. "I feel like we missed some— "

"Shh!" Uraraka smacked lightly at Koharu's arm, intent on watching the two boys.

"Is it like another fated battle between men or—"

Uraraka clamped a hand over Koharu's mouth this time, a ferocious look on her round face. Behind her palm, Koharu snickered and followed her line of attention.

"All things considered, I think I'm stronger than you," said Todoroki.

"Huh?" Midoriya said with a flinch. He looked downwards. "Y-yeah…"

Todoroki continued, his voice level. "But… All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he? I'm not trying to pry about that… but I'm going to beat you."

Koharu bit down against her bottom lip as she contemplated Todoroki's words. So she hadn't been the only one to notice the connection between All Might and Midoriya, even if she had been handed a puzzle piece the others hadn't been privy to. She wondered— _of course, she wondered_— what their connection meant, and of course, she wasn't alone in that.

But there wasn't time for that now. That box was already buried.

"Oh? Is the best in class making a declaration of war?" Kaminari interrupted, leaning backwards from his seat to ogle the two teens.

Kirishima strode forward, always the first to diffuse a potential scuffle. "Hey, hey!" He called as he placed a hand against Todoroki's shoulder. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?"

Todoroki shoved Kirishima's hand off with a quick shrug. "We're not here to play at being friends," he said. He turned to walk away. "So what does it matter?"

"Todoroki," spoke Midoriya. His gaze was downcast, fists tight at his sides. His words halted Todoroki, who turned his gaze over his shoulder to face the boy. "I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people, looking at it objectively…"

Kirishima reached out towards his green-eyed friend, a sympathetic smile on his face as he said, "C'mon Midoriya, you shouldn't talk so negatively—"

"But," said Midoriya, continuing as though Kirishima hadn't interrupted at all. "Everyone— even the students from the other courses— everyone is aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind."

She saw determination flash through Midoriya's eyes as he finally raised his head, straightening to his full height. He seemed larger than before, bolder, as he rose to the challenge handed to him by his classmate. "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

Koharu felt her breath catch in her throat.

_Oh._

"Midoriya," she heard herself say. Two dozen faces whirled towards her. All the air left the room in a swoop. She focused on his eyes, bright like emeralds. When Koharu's lips parted into a toothy grin, he smiled back like he couldn't help it.

She cupped her hands around her mouth as she shouted across the room, "I can't wait to kick your ass too!"

"Stop going around challenging people, idiot!"

* * *

Knees curled tight to her chest, Aoi leaned closer to the laptop at her feet. Her stream of the U.A. Sports Festival wasn't exactly _legal_, per say, but there was no way she would be allowed to watch such a thing on the family television. She had feigned a stomach ache in order to retreat to her bedroom to watch the event in secrecy. It had earned her her brother's scorn, but it would be worth it.

"Hey!" Pro-Hero Present Mic appeared on the screen, throwing open his arms with a greeting. The camera panned over the screaming audience, showcasing the stadium packed with fans. "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. Sports Festival is about to begin! Everybody, are you ready?!"

"Yes," whispered Aoi. Beside her, Pesu yawned and curled a little closer to her feet. Even if his hero would be competing, he didn't care about the festival.

"It's time for the students to enter the first-year stage!"

The camera switched to focus on a large entryway into the stadium as the first students began to come forward. Unfamiliar faces streamed through until Koharu's distinct purple hair finally joined at the end of the group.

"These are the guys, right?" said Present Mic, his voice cutting clearly over the uproarious stadium. "The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, Class 1-A, right?!"

Aoi lurched forward, scrambling closer to the laptop. Pesu yipped in shock as Aoi screeched, "No way! That was her class?!"

More students began to pour into the arena, but Aoi didn't care about them. Present Mic's revelation had sent Aoi's head spinning. Koharu's class had been involved in the villain attack on U.A..

She smashed her face against her mattress and whined. "Why am I such a moron?"

* * *

"Time for the player pledge!"

Midnight stood before the first years atop an elevated platform, her whip in one hand while the other rested on her hip. The crowd fell into a hush with a flick of Midnight's wrist, the sound of her whip echoing through the stadium. A microphone amplified her voice as she commanded, "Quiet, everyone!"

"Representing the first-year students is Katuski Bakugou of Class 1-A!"

Koharu snorted loudly. A hand quickly rose to cover her laugh as Bakugou side-eyed her with distaste, but Koharu's shoulders still shook with mirth. If their confrontation with the students in the hallway was any indication, Bakugou was about to go up there and act like an absolute asshole.

She _loved_ it.

"What?" gasped Midoriya. "It's Kacchan?"

"I guess he did finish first in the entrance exam," Sero acknowledged.

Somewhere to their left, a girl pointedly huffed. "Maybe in the _hero_ course," she snidely corrected.

"R-Right," Midoriya quickly stammered, looking nervous from the girl's interruption.

Sero dropped his head. "It's obvious she hates us…"

"Someone sounds bitter," sing-songed Koharu. She met the girl's glare with a grin. "It's rude to eavesdrop."

"Shut up, Koharu— you'll make them hate us even more!" hissed Kaminari from behind her as he and Kirishima prodded her back.

"Let them," she dismissed with a wave.

Bakugou approached the stage with his hands in his pockets. For all she knew him as a fiery man, in that moment he seemed calm— composed in the face of thousands. She wondered if it was a front, or if Bakugou was just secretly a cool-headed guy.

"I pledge that I'll be number one."

_Pfft. _

Koharu laughed as the crowd around her erupted into jeers, students from every course rallying in their mutual hatred for the blond in that moment. Koharu seemed to be alone in her admiration, her laughter lost to the booing around her.

Iida stepped forward, his arm chopping downwards repeatedly. "Why are you doing something so disgraceful?!"

Bakugou turned to face his peers, nonchalant in the face of their wrath. He finished with a thumbs-down. "At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of."

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

Todoroki: "This isn't U.A.'s Best Friend Race, bitch!"

Wondering who called Koharu an idiot in the first scene? Let your heart decide :)

**Fahdza**— wb! Midoriya and Bakugou are my boooooys so I'm glad you enjoyed their scenes :)

**Emocean**— wb! To me, Bakugou seems like a cat that only spares you the time of day when he realizes you've been off petting other cats. He's a grump like that and I love him.

**BitchBetterHaveMyHoney**— wb! Your review really brightened my day— Koharu is absolute waifu material.

**M**—wb! I'm happy you're enjoying class interactions, because there will be a lot of it. One of the reasons I love BNHA so much is because of the love is gives to side characters, and I don't want to drop that here.

**Teletraan**— wb! I'm glad to see you back! I haven't seen Steven Universe but Google tells me that fusing involves synchronized dancing… only time will tell if that is also true for Koharu but damn, it's a tempting visual.

**Otakugirl1996**—wb! Your review made me really happy. Thank you!

**winddemon199**— I'm glad you think so! Thanks for your review!


	24. Off to the Races

**I cannot believe I've been writing this self-indulgent nonsense for six months already. We're celebrating 100 favourites today! Thank you for reading along with me xo**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Four: Off to the Races_

* * *

"_Start!"_

The first event was an obstacle course. The students surged forward, the sound of their stomping thundering in her ears.

"**Okay, here's the play-by-play!" **

Hizashi narrated the scene overhead. She heard his voice over the roar like he was right beside her.

"**Are you ready to do the commentary, Mummy Man?"**

"**You're the one who forced me to come."**

Her brother was with him— the accurately named _Mummy Man_. She could still hear the bandages over his mouth, only just muffling his voice.

"**Let's get started right away. What should we pay attention to in the early stages?"**

It was a bottleneck. The entirety of the first year class was cramming through the tunnelled gateway leading to the course, hollering like they didn't realize this was the hidden first obstacle. The students pressed together like the easy targets they were.

_Idiots_, she thought snootily. With a grin in place, Koharu grabbed onto the shoulder of the student in front of her, and with a jump, launched herself into the air. She landed on another student's shoulder with ease, and propelled herself forward before they could do more than flinch.

"Hey!"

"What the hell!"

Koharu laughed as she soared over the crowd, moving shoulder to shoulder, and stepped on Bakugou's shoulder with a sinister glee. Behind her, she bellowed an insincere, "Sorry~!"

"Get back here, you damn bastard!"

Cries of shock followed her as ice swept down the pathway, encasing the running students' feet in ice. Todoroki was the first to break through the crowd, an icy mist billowing off the right side of his body. With one final leap, Koharu followed right after him.

"I won't let you get away so easily!"

She didn't need to look behind to know who was approaching— even without his furious voice, the Bakugou's explosions were distinct. Almost certainly, he wouldn't be the only one of their classmates to make it through Todoroki's trap— but there wasn't time to be looking behind her.

Todoroki was directly in front of her, but he was no match for her speed. Within seconds, she was next to him. Their eyes met, his wide with shock and hers alight with delight. She stuck out her tongue.

"Take this!" A voice cried from behind them. "My special attack!"

It was Mineta, one of his hands raised with a grape ball clutched in his palm. He charged forward without any awareness of his surroundings. "Gra—"

_SMASH!_

From behind him came a giant robot, swatting the small boy away like he was nothing more than a fly. Koharu and Todorki skid to a stop as the boy was hit, their path suddenly blocked by the enormous Zero Pointers from the entrance exams.

A tinny voice sounded from the one in the middle. "Targets found… Lots!"

"**Sudden obstacles have shown up! Starting with the first barrier— Robo Inferno!" **

Koharu sized up their opponents with a nod. "Okay," she said as she took a large step backwards. "You're up, Todoroki."

Todoroki didn't spare her a glance, but replied by saying, "So this is what they used in the general entrance exam?" Frost grew over his skin, ice beginning to creep across the pathway from the bottom of his feet. "If they went through all this trouble, I wish they would've prepared something better..."

Rather than watching the boy, Koharu watched the ice at his feet, sidestepping its approach to avoid being frozen in place. She didn't know if Todoroki would consider her enough of a threat to immobilize her, but she was ready for it. She quickly received her answer.

A tidal wave of ice cascaded out from Todoroki's reach, encasing the bottom halves of the robots in thick ice. She was left untouched, if a little cold. A chilly blast of air swept the hair from her face—

* * *

"_Do it again."_

_Bloodshot eyes met as seven-year-old Koharu gaped at her brother, betrayal in her gaze. Her heavy breathing kept her from replying as her heart, pumping wildly in her chest, dropped to her aching stomach. She tried and failed to push herself up on short, weary arms._

"_Get up. Do it again."_

"_I can't," she huffed between stuttering breaths. "I can't do it."_

_Shouta scoffed. "Bullshit." The back of her shirt was fisted and Koharu was dragged roughly to her feet. Her brother, towering above her childish height, glowered down. "You're not taking this seriously. Do it again."_

_Koharu swayed on her feet. "I can't," she repeated with a whine. "I'm too tired."_

_Shouta was firm. The grip on the back of her shirt was unrelenting as his furious eyes. Coldly, he replied, "Heroes don't get to be tired, kid."_

"_Well, I'm not a hero yet!" _

"_Keep this up and you'll never be one."_

_Tears gathered in the corners of Koharu's eyes. Shouta watched her without pity. _

"_Do it again."_

_A snotty nose was rubbed against her wrist-guard. Koharu's dark, watery eyes glared fiercely upwards. "Fine! But— but only 'cause you pissed me off!"_

"_Sure, whatever it takes to get you to run."_

* * *

That was her cue to move. She darted forward, avoiding the icy patches left on the ground by Todoroki as he surged into action. They ran beneath the statuesque robots in tandem, Todoroki eyeing her quickly with distaste that told of his regret to leave her unscathed.

"**Todoroki from Class 1-A! He attacked and defended in one hit! How elegant! Amazing! He'll be the first— what's this?"**

Koharu burst through the mist, Todoroki on her heels. Her smile was bursting as she called over her shoulder, "Thanks for the assist, bro!"

"**The amazing Aizawa of Class 1-A— not to be confused with the ol' Mummy Man here— has taken her opportunity to pull ahead! She's stolen Todoroki's moment of glory!"**

Metal creaked overhead as the unbalanced robots began to descend, frozen metal limbs crashing to the ground. Dust and debris encased the air.

Koharu's pace didn't falter. With how easy Todoroki made it for them, it wouldn't be long before their competitors would be following them— even with the sky raining frozen robots. Everyone who had applied to the Hero course had already fought the robot villains before, and that was even before any legitimate Hero training they had since received. Even without Todoroki's assistance, the first obstacle would be all but a warm-up for people like them.

"**Hey, hey! The first barrier's a piece of cake? Then what about the second?"**

Before them was an enormous field of pillars so tall that their bases were lost to shadow, their tops connected by zig-zagging tightropes. Todoroki ran ahead, using his ice to aid his path across the tightropes without a moment's hesitation. Meanwhile, Koharu jogged momentarily in place as she assessed the course, eyes darting across the landscape as she considered her best course of action.

"**If you fall, you're out! If you don't want to fall, then crawl!" **

The gaps between the pillars were too large for her to jump, and the paths created by the tightropes were too irregular. She couldn't risk taking a path that would come to a dead-end. There had to be a path of least resistance— there was no way the paths could be entirely haphazard. Koharu's eyes swept the field.

_There it is. _She would have to run backwards and to the left, but the pillars there were closer than the others, with a more direct line to the other side. She was off without another thought, disappearing into the tree-line to another tightrope start.

"**It's 'The Fall'!"**

* * *

"_I'm gonna die," the eleven-year-old Koharu whined from the ground, her back beaten and bruised. Her back still twanged from an earlier tumble. "I'm hungry. Can't we stop yet?"_

"_You haven't even made it once," her brother firmly reminded her. "I told you that we aren't having lunch until you've done it three times. Try again."_

"_But I'm really, really hungry!"_

"_You'd better hurry up, then."_

_Koharu huffed into the dirt, and pushed herself up onto her knees. Without shame, she crawled her way back to the ladder, too tired to pull herself to her feet before absolutely necessary. The ladder she had to climb was only just shorter than herself, and she climbed it with a drag in her bones._

_Shouta sighed as he handed her a bow. "If you get it this time, I'll let you have a ten minute snack break." _

"_Deal," she said as she snatched the proffered weapon from his hand. With a new determination glinting in her eyes, she shoved the bow between her teeth and walked forward._

_Her feet met the tightrope carefully, her arms outstretched and swaying up and down to keep her balance. Reaching the middle of the rope, she carefully spread her feet and turned to the side. Her back wobbled with the effort to stay perfectly upright. Her eyes were locked in front of her._

_Three battered dart boards were posted against the trees. They were well-loved, riddled with holes and dented by arrows. A crude drawing of her homeroom teacher was taped to the bullseye of the one on the right._

"_Hit the one on the left," Shouta ordered as he handed her an arrow, placing it directly into her hand._

_Koharu dropped her bow from her mouth to her hand in order to pout— the left was her worst side. Determining that her brother was trying to trick her out of her snack break, she grumbled a pointed, "You suck." For good measure, she stuck out her tongue._

_Shouta didn't reply as she windmilled her arms and struggled to steady her legs, her cursing having thrown her off balance._

* * *

Koharu reached the first pillar with a running jump. Her feet hit the ground and kept moving, the teen making her way quickly to the wire on her left— she would be forced to slow crossing the tightrope, so there would be no wasting time.

_Well, here goes nothing. _

Koharu took a centring breath and raised both of her arms up to her sides. Head straight, eyes focused, and stomach taut, she took her first step forward.

Walking a tightrope was akin to riding a bicycle in that Koharu detested both; however, it was hard to forget the skill even being months out of practice. She ignored her competition as she made her way steadily forward, her steps careful and calculated. She wouldn't fall.

Her feet hit the welcome security of the second pillar, and Koharu darted across once more. As she stepped onto the next wire, she grumbled, "I bet Shouta's so fucking smug up there right now… I wanna smack him just thinking about it…"

Being mentored by Shouta was an experience that Koharu would never trade. Everything she had learned— everything she was good at— was because he had spent years pushing her to be better than she was the day before. There was no way in hell that she could have gotten into U.A. if she hadn't been specifically trained to fight without a Quirk.

"**They haven't announced how many people will make it through, so you can't relax! You must push forward!" **

Her failures had felt endless. Shouta's tests were _ridiculous_, and while Koharu had understood the greater concepts of _balance_ and _focu_s to be gained in tightrope walking, she hadn't expected the skill to become so literally applicable. It was just yet another thing that Shouta had been right about, the smug bastard.

Her feet met solid ground.

"**And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier! It's a minefield!"**

"What? Fuck!" Koharu cursed as she sprinted forward, knowing Todoroki would have been the first one to reach the obstacle with his head start. How many people were ahead of her now? How had she gone from 'amazing' to _mediocre_ so quickly?

She couldn't let Shouta down. Couldn't let her training go to waste. Her hair fluttered behind her as she ran, floating. Desperation clutched her chest, her lungs suddenly smaller as she pushed herself to go faster, _faster_, to be _better—_

_Be the best._

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

I spent a _very_ long time watching tightrope stunts when you consider how little time Koharu actually spends walking them. #noragrets

**Otakugirl1996** — wb! Thank you so much, that is so sweet of you to say.

**Fahdza** — wb! I've had the exact thoughts that you have, and it made it hard for me to decide, too! Thanks for your review :)

**M** — wb! Thanks for much for your review- you haven't missed a single chapter in six months and I love you for it._  
_

**AmIValid2** — Your review made me so happy! I'm so glad that you're enjoying Koharu and her story, and I hope you'll continue to read along! Twinning for the win!

**Peacekeeper904** — Thank for you laughing at my dumb jokes. I hope you'll continue to laugh along :)

**TishaLiz** — I guess time will tell ;) big plans, though! Thank you for your review!


	25. Fury and Fear

_Chapter 25: Fury and Fear_

* * *

Shouta still remembered his first Sports Festival with vivid clarity. Honestly, it would come back to haunt him when he chased sleep— the way he tripped over his feet, embarrassing himself in front of the crowds and potential employers. His defeat at the hands of his classmates was all too easy, Shouta unable to use anything but his hands and feet against a sea of monsters. He hadn't been strong enough yet.

Admittedly, he was ready for Koharu to face the same fate. He had assured to the fact that Koharu was strong, but she was just a person. Koharu may have had the ability to switch Quirks between people, but that gave her no support, no physical enhancements, and no special abilities. If you hit her, she would bruise, and like a peach at that. She had trained relentlessly to work up her speed and endurance, but at the end of the day, she was a kid playing catch-up.

So just how was she making the course look so stupidly easy?

He should have been paying attention to the front-runners. Beside him, Hizashi surely was. Bakugou and Todoroki were neck-to-neck and battling for first place. Students were setting off harmless explosions left and right, and bright bursts of colour marked every failure. Towards the back of the group, the field exploded in a shock of pink light.

Koharu didn't miss a step. She charged forward, reckless and rampant and _rewarded_. It was like she wasn't touching the ground, her bounding steps unfettered by the landmines beneath her. He was sure that she had stepped on them, but the only colour that followed her was the floating purple of her hair as she propelled through the smoke.

It wasn't the first time that he had noticed it, but now that he _noticed it_, it was all that he could see. Her balance. Her speed. The way she went soaring with every hit, and how she could always jump just a little farther than him, just a little bit higher—

Shouta had raised her for a decade, and he had known her all her life. She was annoying and brilliant and so _obnoxiously_ bright and fuck, she was loud. She talked, and talked, and _talked_, and when she wasn't talking, she was dancing— and when she wasn't dancing, she was playing, or singing, or terrorizing the cats. Shouta could still hear her thundering toddler footsteps, echoing like a demon coming down the hall.

Now he could hear nothing but her silence.

In the dark of their apartment, he would strain to hear her footsteps over the sound of his breathing. He would hold his anxiety tight in his lungs until he was blue in the face, until his heart was beating too loud to hear over anyway— and _of course_ Shouta had noticed that she was light-footed, but—

But—

Now the world was watching her too, and he couldn't keep ignoring the implications. Someone else was going to notice that there was more to Koharu than she knew— more than Shouta could understand, more than he was ready to. Shouta had choked his fears to death without mercy, shoved them down and buried them six feet under, unseen and rotting. But now— now they would dig them up and Shouta _knew_.

He had fucked up. Shouta had more than his fair share of mistakes as a sudden, unwanted, first-time parent, but feigning ignorance, tricking himself into it, was the wrong call. He could see the cracks in their peaceful life, the ripples of his decision destroying it all. He could see it all being taken away from him, and _Shouta couldn't survive that again— _

His heart was pounding loud enough to drown out the sounds of Hizashi's campaigning and the crowd's cheering. He could feel himself sweating beneath his bandages. The way she was moving was so _achingly_ familiar, and he swore he could feel the press of a firm hand on his shoulder, could feel grains of sand grow heavy against his feet until they couldn't touch him at all— he could feel the soles of his feet against water, his father's hand in his own, and he could see himself floating up, and up, and—

He saw a body dropping, arms loose around a little girl who wouldn't let go. He never thought his father could look so heavy.

_What have you done—_

"Shouta?"

Fearful eyes went sideways. Hizashi had muted their microphones and turned his body towards Shouta, his eyes heavy with concern. The crowd still roared around them. Students had gathered in the stadium below.

He had missed the ending of the race. A heavier guilt began to pool in his stomach— it wasn't fair to the rest of his students for him to have spaced out. If he wasn't observing them and finding ways to help them grow, he wasn't doing his job as their teacher. Shouta had fucked up— _again_.

He truly needed to get his shit together. Still, he asked, "What did she place?"

Hizashi's eyebrow twitched, frustrated with him in a way that Shouta refused to diagnose. There was no clarification needed for his friend to understand who he referred to."Fifth."

Shouta could have fainted. He swallowed his nausea down, the feeling heavy on his tongue. "Great."

* * *

"Ooh! Can we ride the Ferris wheel? Please, please, please!"

"I don't know, Haru, it's been a long day…"

"Aw, come on. She said 'please'."

"I said it _three times_!"

"She said it _three whole times_, hon. Why don't you wait on the bench over there, and I'll take this polite little girl for a trip on the Ferris wheel?"

* * *

"Hey! Haru! You should join my team!"

A hand clasped loosely around her wrist. With a scowl already jerking into place, Koharu turned to face whoever was rude enough to manhandle her, let alone to call her by that _dumbass_ nickname—

And was surprised to see that she had _no fucking clue_ who the guy was, despite that fact that he clearly knew her. His smile shone with expectation.

Koharu scrunched up her nose. "Who are you supposed to be?"

His thin brown eyebrows furrowed. His bottom lip popped out into a pronounced pout. "Whaaat? You're gonna act like you don't even know me?"

"..._do_ I know you?"

"It's me! Kosei!" He patted his chest for emphasis.

Koharu grimaced. "That… doesn't really clear it up. Sorry."

The stranger's face— _Kosei's face_— turned incredulous as his eyebrows disappeared into spiky brown hair. "Kosei Tsuburaba? We were classmates for years…"

"Oops."

His shoulders slumped forward."Y-you don't even feel bad for not remembering me?"

"Not really," Koharu responded with a shrug, her eyes already darting away to see who was left to grab for the cavalry battle. "We obviously weren't friends, so I'll have to turn down your offer. Thanks anyway."

"Wait!" Kosei pleaded as he snatched at her wrist once more. "You really don't remember me?" His cheeks began to turn a little pink. His free hand scratched at his cheek. "Honestly, I thought maybe you used to like me since you interrupted me and Juzo's fight, and there was that time you—"

The light bulb went off. "Oh, fuck," Koharu said, her black eyes wide with realization and her stomach rumbling with a pudding cup craving. "You're that one guy."

"...th-that one guy?"

Koharu rolled her eyes as she firmly freed herself from Kosei's grasp. She moved her hands pointedly behind her back and stepped out of reach. "Listen, could we do the whole 'reunion' thing later? I kind of need to find a team, so—"

"You're still looking for a team?"

Another unrecognizable voice. Koharu closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath through her nose before she began to turn to face the next bozo asking her to team up without warrant.

"Sorry—"

* * *

Her ears cleared to the sound of a roaring stadium. Her feet were firmly planted, but she felt as though they had been swept from under her. Her eyes felt heavy.

"**In first place, Team Todoroki!" **

"W-wait—" stuttered Koharu as she looked around her. She was standing next to her classmate Ojiro and two unfamiliar boys in the middle of an ice-strewn stadium, the crowd hooting around them. Everyone else was standing in similar groups of three or four, freshly bruised and panting.

"**In second place, Team Bakugou!" **

Koharu's stomach dropped into her feet. "This can't be happening," she spoke under her breath, lungs too constricted for anything higher. Beside her, Ojiro's head was whipping frantically from side to side.

"**In third place, Tetsute— huh? What, it's Team Shinsou?! When did you come from behind?"**

The boy standing in front of them began to turn, drawing Koharu's eyes to lavender hair, and soon, lavender eyes.

_Oh, motherfucker._

It was the boy from the hallway, the one with the bastard personality and the annoying voice… how she hadn't instantly recognized him when he approached her was a mystery. A smug smile curled on disgusting lips as Shinsou's gaze swept over their small group to meet Koharu's burning eyes. "Thanks for all your hard work," he said, smug.

_What hard work?_ Koharu wanted to ask. The entire point of the Sports Festival was to stand out, and one second with him and suddenly she was out of commission for an entire third of the festival— a nondescript, featureless puppet. Not only that, but she had missed any chance to familiarize herself with the rest of the competition's Quirks, rendering her own Quirk completely useless in the next round unless she only faced Class 1-A.

Well, Class 1-A or Shinsou.

She hadn't seen his eyes and he hadn't touched her, which meant that his Quirk was auditory based. She knew that it wasn't until she responded that she lost control of herself, which meant that talking to him again was a big _fucking no_. She only barely managed to restrain herself from reaching and ripping out his vocal cords.

_For now._

"Go fuck yourself," she mouthed instead. With a smirk, Shinsou turned away.

"**In fourth place, Team Midoriya!"**

Thirty feet to her right, someone began to wail.

"**These four teams will advance to the final round! Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon's activities! Alriiiight! See ya!" **

"This… doesn't feel right," spoke Ojiro, his voice weak.

Koharu pursed her lips. "I know," she agreed in a low voice. "But maybe it'll feel better once we kick some ass."

"I—" Ojiro paused. "Maybe. I guess."

"We still have the final round to prove ourselves." Koharu reached out to smack Ojiro lightly on the shoulder, encouragingly resting her hand there for a moment. "We'll just have to Plus Ultra the hell out of it." She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "You'll be fine."

The blond smiled, though his eyes still shone with uncertainty. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Whatever," Koharu shrugged in response as she dropped her hand from his shoulder. With the wave the two parted ways, Koharu headed quickly away from the crowds while Ojiro moved to join it.

For all that she comforted Ojiro, Koharu herself felt like crap. She had wasted an opportunity to prove herself, and effectively stolen someone else's place in doing so. It wasn't right that she should be able to win without any effort on her part while so many others were disqualified. She couldn't remember the second event or how well she performed in it, and yet she had moved onto the final round. It certainly didn't feel earned.

And that _pissed her off_. Her head was hung low and her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she stomped her way to the staging area Class 1-A had occupied earlier. Fuelled by a desperation to be alone, her feet moved quickly beneath her. The hallway blurred around her.

The door thudded closed behind her.

"FUCK!"

The sound of metal clanging filled the room as Koharu kicked the base of a chair, sending it clattering across the floor. It rattled where it landed by the lockers. Koharu's hands found the roots of her hair, tugging and tugging and _tugging._

"That bastard!" Cursing, she began to pace the room. "Ugh, this isn't good. This isn't good."

Why her? Shinsou didn't even know her Quirk. Their sole interaction had involved her threatening him with a foot up the ass for running his mouth, and Bakugou had been an even greater asshole than herself. Was Shinsou taking away her opportunity to impress the scouts on purpose? And to what purpose? _Why her? _

A second chair clattered to the ground, followed by another. In the midst, the door slid open.

"Koharu?"

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

Super sorry for the delay! This chapter was a challenge because it includes the two scenes that spawned this story back in February, so to me this chapter feels really major even if it doesn't seem like a huge deal to anyone else. I've lost count of my rough drafts, so hopefully something legible came through…

Anyway, another Shouta chapter was long overdue. Working title for this chapter: "Local Garbage Man Throws Self In Trash".

**Otakugirl1996**— wb! Shouta doesn't half-ass: he whole-asses. Koharu's training was essentially another full-time job for him. Thanks so much for your review!

**M**— wb! I'm glad you enjoyed the Aizawa training. Thanks for cheering Koharu on, and thank you as always for your review!


	26. Say My Name

**I know it's been ridiculously long (like nearly three months, what the hell?) but hey, here's a chapter! Thanks for sticking around, and happy holidays.**

* * *

_Chapter 26: Say My Name_

* * *

"Koharu?"

Whirling to meet the intruder, Koharu's wild eyes met the steady eyes of her seatmate. Tokoyami's hand remained poised on the door, the teen looking ready to step back out again. "Are you alright?"

Koharu licked across her teeth and readied a lie like ammo. "I'm fine," she shot. "I just... thought I saw a rat?"

Tokoyami's red eyes swept the room, taking in the upended charis that littered the floor. Koharu inwardly admitted that it was not her best fib yet. Finally, his gaze locked back onto Koharu. "I will pretend to believe that, if you need me to. Can I offer you any assistance?"

"No, I'm fine," she was quick to reply. Realizing that her hands still being maniacally buried in her hair presented a counter image to her being 'fine', Koharu carefully untangled her fingers from her curls. They dropped uneasily to her sides, twitchy with an absence of tasks. "I was just leaving."

Tokoyami side-stepped into the room to clear the doorway. His eyes remained locked on her own, daring her to follow through and pass him. Red met black relentlessly.

Black broke first.

"Alright," Koharu said, tossing her hands into the air. "I was throwing a hissy-fit. I kicked the stupid chairs. You can go tattle to Iida if you want— I'm sure he would have some choice words for me right about now. I wouldn't bother telling the homeroom teach', though. I heard he's got a soft spot for me."

Tokoyami slid the door closed. The sound of it thudding into place punctuated her rambling, inviting back the stillness that she had sought in fleeing to the locker room in the firts place. She felt in her chest as it loosened a knot, unnoticed until she could breathe easier. The intruder leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

The silence stretched between them. Her stance was stubborn, firm-footed and tense. Tokoyami was unyielding. His eyes stayed locked on her figure, unable to catch her flighty gaze but resolute nonetheless.

"I don't deserve to have made it to the second round," she blurted, the first to break again. "That shitfaced dumb-ass Shinshou from Class-1B used his Quirk on me or whatever. He was using me, or, or something— I just know that I wasn't in control of myself. I can't even remember the match."

She heard his hum of acknowledgement clearly across the quiet room. "The reason for your uncharacteristic humility during the match has become clearer," Tokoyami said. "You're typically much... bolder."

Koharu huffed. "That's on purpose. I'm kinda trying to get noticed here."

"We all are," Tokoyami agreed with a slow nod of his head. "However, you still have the next round to showcase your talents."

"Right," she said. The word felt hollow. Her fingers plucked at the seam of her gym pants. "There's still the next round. Yeah."

It was all wrong.

"Tokoyami," spoke Koharu. His eyes remained locked on hers, calm. His steadiness served to make her all the more aware of her own shaking hands. "Do you remember our Hero training? I mean— I know you do. You're not a forgetful guy." Still, he nodded. "I used my Quirk right away… so you weren't able to show off at all."

"And you're concerned that that will happen to you in the next round?"

"It's already happened." Bitter. Admitting defeat tasted wrong. Koharu swiped her tongue across her teeth. "It's not like I did anything useful in the cavalry battle, and there was nothing to do in the obstacle course except to run. I used Todoroki to get past the real challenges. It's pure luck that I've made it this far. Do I even deserve to be in the next round?"

As her voice rose, Todoroki stayed level. His arms remained locked across his chest. "I believe only you can answer such a question."

"Then I don't," she said. Feeling the urge to kick another chair, she moved instead to pick up one of the few she had previously knocked over. The legs of the chair screeched along the floor as she righted it. Her fingers dug into the smooth plastic back, desperate to be busied. "I don't deserve to be in the next round."

"But?"

"But, fuck!" Koharu burst with an empty laugh. "Fuck if I don't want it anyway. Fuck if I'm not dying to show Shinsou what a piss poor enemy he's made out of me, and to show everyone else what a kick-ass hero I can make. I'm pissed off that my chance was taken from me, and I fucking want it back. I want to prove that I can do it."

"There is only one person trying to stop you," he said with a heavy pause. "It is yourself."

"Goddamn," she replied. "That's fucking deep, man."

"I try," came the dry response.

* * *

_xox_

* * *

The final round would take place after lunch. After her conversation with Tokoyami, Koharu was feeling just vaguely forgiving enough to stomach a meal. Her classmates had long since dispersed, and Tokoyami was quick to leave her for less aggressive company.

Koharu stood alone in the hallway, her thumb held hesitantly over her phone's touchscreen. She didn't want to be alone, but neither did she want a crowd. Most of her friends would have already grouped together, and it would be awkward for her to rescind her own request if it turned out they were in groups. She wasn't interested in sharing what had transpired between her and Tokoyami with anyone else.

Five minutes of deliberation later, the choice was made for her. Her phone lit up, a pictureless contact lighting up her screen.

_Aoi Nakanishi would like to video chat. Accept?_

Koharu took a deep breath and let it ring twice before answering, not wanting to make it obvious she had been staring at her phone. She plastered on a smile as she answered. "Hey, Nakanishi."

Aoi's video feed was so dark that she could barely make out her outline, but Aoi's cheery voice cracked into life over the line. "Oh my gosh, you were so cool out there!"

"Oh," said Koharu, her pinks beginning to tinge a light pink. "You're watching the festival?"

"Duh."

"...oh," she repeated dumbly.

"I knew you would do well in the race! I remember when we first met, and you chased after Pesu— I've never seen anyone move so fast!"

The praise hit her in the stomach. Koharu tilted her hair over her face as she felt her cheeks darken. "It was really nothing special. I'm just a little fast, it was no big deal or anything…"

"Are you kidding me?" came Aoi's quick retort. Koharu could see her move closer to the camera. "I think you were the only person I didn't see get blasted by those crazy landmines. It was like you were floating!"

That brought pause. Why hadn't she detonated any of the mines? Koharu had taken it as a blessing at the time, another box packed away and a mystery to be answered after crossing the finish line. She was certain that she had stepped over plenty of the buried bombs with her reckless charge, but she had continued unhindered.

Aoi was still waiting for a response. Koharu spoke through a suddenly dry mouth.

"I just got lucky, I guess."

Aoi was scoffing. "Lucky? That wasn't luck. Don't lie— you were using someone else's Quirk, weren't you?"

"No," she replied as her stomach churned. She didn't know what truth to tell. "No— I wasn't. I can't use people's Quirks."

"I'm not so sure about that, Aizawa… how else can you explain our future?"

Right. Someone was going to drop a building on them. The mysterious _we_ of _we're here_. All the panicked thoughts she had pushed aside pushed at the edges of their boxes, anxiety spilling through the cracks and flooding her veins with something terrible and nauseating. Into the phone, she mustered two words: "I can't."

"I can, you little thief," teased the faint voice across the line, the silhouette unknowing of the avalanche they had caused. "So who did you rob?"

* * *

_xox_

* * *

"Last chance to join us! You're really sure you want to sit this out? It'll be the last ride of the day..."

"Absolutely positive. It's a little high for my taste."

"Please, mommy?"

"That's not going to work on me again! I'll be waiting for you at the bottom."

* * *

_xox_

* * *

"...the hell's your problem?"

"Fuck!" Koharu swore, her body visibly jolting. She didn't uncurl her head from between her knees— she didn't need to see his face to recognize his voice. She had been caught with her metaphorical pants down twice in the past twenty minutes, and it was starting to wear on her pride. "God, can people stop sneaking up on me when I'm trying to have mental breakdowns? Do you people know nothing of privacy?"

Bakugou scoffed. She could practically see the sneer on his face as he replied, "It's not my fault you're crying in the middle of the hallway like some sort of attention-seeking brat."

That made her raise her head. Seeking attention was the last thing she wanted, but Koharu hadn't had the luxury of choosing where to break down in frustrated tears after quickly ending her call with Aoi. There were so many questions that she still needed answers to, and it seemed like the list only kept growing. She knew that she needed to focus— to focus on the sports festival, on her career, on her _future_…

The problem was that it was all so big, and Koharu was so small. She was overflowing with it. All she had wanted was to be a hero, and somehow she had ended up on some stupid journey of self-discovery instead. _Why couldn't it just be easy? Why wasn't it fair?_

Focusing on what little she could, she glared up at Bakugou through puffy eyes. "I don't need your attention. In fact, if you would so kindly fuck off, I'd be much obliged."

The blond twitched like he was tempted to kick her, his permanent scowl deepening. "You don't own the fucking hallway, shittyface!"

"Sh—?" An unwanted snort faltered her glare. "Did— did you just call me 'shittyface'? What the hell kind of insult is that?"

Bakugou's eye began to twitch uncontrollably. "You should know, shittyface," he doubled down as his foot planted itself firmly against her bicep. A quick shove, and Koharu's crouched form hit the ground with an undignified yelp.

"Oi!" was her angry yell. Her face was flushed in anger as she began scrambling upright. The fall certainly hadn't hurt, but it was the principle of the matter. She hadn't been shoved like that since elementary school, and for good reason. "What the fuck's the matter with you, Baku-brat?"

He stood like a bitter child, hands deep in his pockets and shoulders up by his ears. "The fuck's the matter," he repeated, "With you?"

_Oh, you've got no idea, buddy._

Instead, she lied. "I'm fine." His eyes swept her face, and she was instantly cognizant of the drying tears still on her cheeks. She rubbed her wristband roughly across her face. "I've got allergies." It was suddenly harder to meet Bakugou's red sneer, his mouth shifting into a fine line and eyes peering a touch too deeply. She wondered briefly if he didn't have heat vision, as her face warmed to pink wherever his eyes trailed.

Finally, Bakugou harumphed and turned away. She wondered if he had found what he was looking for, or if he was disappointed. "You're a shitty liar—" he said, and her stomach sank, "But I don't really give a shit either way. See you on the field, shittyface."

And just like that, he was gone. Koharu stood cemented where he left her, listening as his footsteps disappeared down the hall.

"'Shittyface'," she eventually repeated. "Sounds like the sort of stupid-ass thing I'd come up with…" softly, she began to smile through still burning cheeks. "Idiot."

* * *

_chapter end_

* * *

**Fahdza**— wb! You didn't miss anything. Secretive author is being secretive.

**Otakugirl1996**—wb! Shouta lives in a constant state of stress over Koharu, which has clearly taught her grrreeeat coping mechanisms.

**ZippyZappy**— Your review made me soooo happy! I'm so glad that you like Koharu, and your compliments to my writing are making me swoon. I hope you'll continue to enjoy!

**M**— wb! Answers will absolutely come, but not yet :) and yes... the day is certainly young!

**Mads-Chikistorm**— ;)

**Princess Aziza**— Please someone hug the Aizawas. They desperately need it. I hadn't thought about Midnight in this story, but you're not the first to mention it, so I feel like she's going to need to get involved... she seems like the kind of woman Koharu would be _obsessed_ with, to the complete dismay of her brother.


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